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http://www.archive.org/details/arrowsanecdotesOOmoodrich 


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ICJU^'iilswartli. 

Arrows  and  Anecdotes, 


BY. 


DWIGHT  L.  MOODY; 


WITH  A  SKETCH  OF  HIS  EARLY  LIFE, 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  GREAT  REVIVAL. 


BY  JOHN    LOBB, 

MANAGING  EDITOR  OF  THE  "CHRISTIAN  AGE,"  LONDON. 


HENRY    GURLEY: 

312  FOURTH  AVENUE,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  BUILDING, 

NE^v  York:, 


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PREFACE, 


TT  has  been  a  regret  expressed  by  many  that  an  enlarg- 
ed collection  of  anecdotes  and  forcible  words  by  Mr. 
Moody  has  not  been  published.  With  the  present  vol- 
ume I  have  endeavored  to  supply  that  need,  and  in  it 
will  be  found  many  "  Arrowy  words,  which  kindle  as  they 
fly."  Seeing  that  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  are  fellow- 
laborers  in  the  gospel,  it  has  been  deemed  to  be  only 
just  that  the  "  Story  of  the  Great  Revival,"  wrought 
chiefly  through  their  instrumentality,  should  be  briefly 
recorded  here,  and  also  a  short  biography  of  the  men 
who  were  such  devoted  leaders. 

The  religious  movement,  conducted  by  Messrs. 
Moody  and  Sankey  in  the  chief  cities  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,  during  the  years  1873-4-5,  in  many  re- 
spects stands  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  revivals,  and 
their  visit  will  long  be  held  in  grateful  and  loving  remem- 
brance by  thousands.  To  many  it  was  the  occasion  of 
an  awakening  to  spiritual  life  from  the  death  of  sin — a 
deliverance  from  the  bondage  of  Satan  into  the  light  and 


4  PREFACE, 

liberty  of  God's  salvation.  To  many  others,  already  in 
possession  of  religious  life,  it  proved  a  time  of  quickening 
and  renewed  consecration  of  body,  soul,  and  spirit  to  the 
service  of  the  Redeemer.  It  was  also  the  means  and 
opportunity  of  drawing  together,  in  a  way  not  often  seen 
before  in  this  country.  Christian  men  and  women  of 
various  denominations,  who  seemed  to  forget  their  differ- 
ences in  one  common  object — the  salvation  of  men. 

To  Christian  workers  in  the  pulpit,  platform,  school, 
or  class-room,  it  is  hoped  these  pages  will  prove  of  valua- 
able  service,  and  aid  them  in  bringing  home  to  the  hearts 
of  their  charge  the  grand  truths  of  Christianity. 

May  the  circulation  of  this  volume  greatly  promote 
the  work  of  Christ  in  the  world,  which  those  devoted 
Evangelists  have  so  deeply  at  heart. 

JOHN  LOBB. 
89  Farringdon  Street,  London  E.  C, 
July,  1876. 


CONTENTS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  D.  L.  MOODY  6-  /.  Z>.  SANKEY. 


D.  L.  Moody. 

Birth;  Death  of  Father; 
Courage  and  Heroism  of 
Widowed  Mother;  Affect- 
ing Story  of  a  Wandering 
Brother - 19 

Mother's  Prayers  for  an  Ab- 
sent Son;  the  Empty  Chair; 
Return  of  his  Brother 20 

Forgiving  Love  of  Mother; 
Anecdote  of  when  Six 
Years  Old ;  Early  Idea  of 
Prayer 21 

Sent  to  the  District  School ; 
Imperfection  of  Educition; 
Early  Love  of  Fun  and  Mis- 
chief; Leaves  Home  at 
Seventeen  for  Boston  ;  Ap- 
prenticed to  his  Uncle 22 

First  Efforts  at  Business,  and 
how  succeeded ;  Joins  a 
Congregational  Sunday- 
School  ;  Circumstances  at- 
tending his  Conversion ; 
Announces  himself  as  a 
Candidate  for  Church 
Membership 23 

Refused,  and  Why ;  Second 
Application,  and  Enrol- 
ment as  a  Member ;  Youth- 
ful    Ardor    in     Religion; 


He  meets  with  some  Dis- 
couragements ;  Leaves  Bos- 
ton for  the  Far  West ;  Ar- 
rival in  Chicago  in  1855  —     24 

Obtains  a  Situation;  Testi- 
mony of  his  Master  to  his 
Business  Habits  ;  a  Deba- 
ting Class  Established;  Dis- 
cussions on  the  Subject  of 
Slavery;  His  Opinion;  Pu- 
ritanical Ideas  ;  First  Ef- 
fort at  Missionary  Work---     25 

Fresh  Discouragements ; 
Joins  a  Methodist  Mission 
Band;  Desires  to  become 
a  Sunday-School  Teacher ; 
Devotes  his  Sunday  Morn- 
ings to  the  Spiritual  W^el- 
fare  of  Sailors — 26 

Establishes  a  Sunday-School 
in  "The  Sands;"  Endeav- 
ors to  attract  its  miserable 
Children ;  Induces  Two 
Friends  to  Join  him;  Suc- 
cess      27 

Perseverance,  notwithstand- 
ing Persecution  ;  Anecdote 
of  a  Poor  Lad;  The  School 
visited  by  President  Lin- 
coln       28 

Connected  with  the    Young 


\* 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion ;  Noonday  Prayer- 
Meeting  and  rts  neglect; 
Changed  through  his  Ener- 
gy and  Fervor  of  Spirit ; 
Becomes  a  Commercial 
Traveller;  Relinquishes  all 
Business  Engagements;  De- 
votes all  his  Time  to  God's 
Service 29 

The  great  American  Rebel- 
lion ;  He  establishes  regu- 
lar Worship  among  the 
Troops - 30 

Volunteers  found;  Result  of 
their  Labors ;  Sent  to  the 
Field  of  Battle;  A  New 
Sphere  of  Action —     31 

Meeting  held  among  the 
Southern  Prisoners ;  Re- 
port for  1865 32 

Erects  a  District  Church  and 
becomes  Pastor ;  Faithful 
Discharge  of  Duties;  Elect- 
ed President  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association     33 

Farwell  Hall  built;  Destruc- 
tion of  the  Hall  by  Fire; 
a  Second  Edifice  erected; 
Resort  for  Secret  Pra3'er  ; 
His  Marriage  in  1862 34 

Domestic  Life;  Two  Anec- 
dotes showing  how  his 
Faith  was  tested 35 

Great  Fire  of  Chicago;  Zeal 
in  procuring  Aid  for  Suf- 
ferers ;  Starts  on  a  Tour 
to  collect  Funds;  Revival 
Services  at  Brooklyn,  Phil- 
adelphia, &c.;  Large  Wood- 
en Tabernacle  erected  on  the 
Site  of  his  former  Church  -     36 

Pi'ogramme  of  an  ordinary 
Sunday's  Service;  Pays  a 
short  Visit  to  Englancl  in 
1872;  Impression  that  he 
should  return 37 


PAGB. 

I.  D.  Sankey. 

Birth;  Position  of  Father; 
Taken  early  to  the  Sunday- 
School  ;  Conversion  at  the 
Age  of  Fifteen  - 38 

Joins  the  Church ;  Removal  of 
his  Family  to  Newcastle ; 
Placed  in  a  School;  Joins 
the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church ;  Early  Aptitude  for 
Music  and  Singing;  Ap- 
pointed Superintendent  of 
a  Sunday-School;  First 
commences  Singing  the 
Gospel ;  its  Effects  upon  the 
School;  Appointed  Class- 
leader;  Enlists  for  Three 
Months'  Service;  Enters  a 
Department  of  the  Civil 
Service 39 

His  Fame  as  a  Singer  of  the 
Gospel  spreads ;  Takes 
the  Lead  in  Singing  at 
a  Convention  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion; Urged  by  Mr.  Moody 
to  become  his  Fellow-work- 
er at  Caicago 40 

His  Labors  Blessed;  Gives 
Himself  entirely  to  the 
Work ;  Anecdote  of  his 
Visit  to  a  Dying  Child 41 

Accompanies  Mr.  Moody  to 
Great  Britain;  His  Selec- 
tion of  Sacred  Songs  as  a 
Revival  Hymn-book;  Two 
Hymns  special  favorites; 
History  of  "The  Ninety 
and  Nine  " 42 

Where  First  Found,  and  its 
Author;  Extract  from  the 
New  York  Tribime 43 

"Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth 
by;"  History  of  the  Hymn  ; 
A  Gambler's  Conversion  --     44 

A  Complete  Version  of  "Je- 
sus of  Nazareth  " 45,  46 


CONTENTS, 


STORY  OF  THE  GREAT  REVIVAL. 


PAGE. 

The  Visit  of  Messrs.  Moody 
and  Sankey  to  Great  Brit- 
ain a  Work  of  Faith,  and 
why;  Timely  Assistance 
from  a  Friend;  Mutual 
Agreement  to  take  no  Sal- 
ary for  their  Work  ;  Arri- 
val at  Liverpool ;  Discour- 
agement  - 47 

Their  First  Meeting  in  York  ; 
Work  at  York,  Sunderland, 
and  Newcastle 48 

Arrival  in  Edinburgh;  Con- 
version, at  Edinburgh,  of 
the  Chairman  of  an  Infidel 
Club 49 

Great  Success  in  Glasgow —     50 

Great  Meetings  at  Paisley, 
Greenock,  and  Gouroch, 
Dundee,  Aberdeen,  and  In- 
verness; First  Meeting  in 
Ireland  held  in  Belfast 51 

Their  Work  in  Belfast  and  in 
Londonderry ;    Commence- 


PAGE 

ment  of  Services  in  Dublin  ; 
Special  Meetings  for  the 
Soldiers  of  the  Curragh 
Camp  ;  A  Band  of  Atheists 
in  Dublin 52 

A  Three-days'  Convention  in 
Dublin  ;  First  Meetings  in 
Manchester   53 

At  Sheffield;  Great  Meetings 
at  Birmingham  ;  They  pro- 
ceed to  Liverpool  54 

Preparations  for  the  Visit  of 
the  Evangelists  to  I>ondon ; 
Their  First  Public  Services 
at  the  Agricultural  Hall---     55 

Removal  to  Bow ;  vServices 
at  the  Opera-House,  Hay- 
market,  etc. 56 

Thanksgiving  and  Farewell 
Meeting  at  Mildmay  Park 
Conference  Hall 57 

Remarks  on  the  Movement 
and  on  Mr.  Moody's  Preach- 
ing - 5S-60 


ARROWS  AND  ANECDOTES. 


Adam,  First  and  Second 203 

Adventure,  A  Perilous 143 

Affairs,  Worldly,  Blinding  Influ- 
ence of 113 

Affectin.,'  War  Story,  An 130 

Afraid  of  the  Landlord 134 

All  concluded  in  Sin 106,  116 

American  Heroine,  An 182 

Angel,  The  Child 71 

Answered  Prayer 65-68 

Anxiety,    Burden   of,  about   an 

absent  Son i6r 

Ark,  Illustration  of  the 77 

Christ,  the 78 

Arnot,Dr.Vv''.,  and  a  poor  Woman  134 


Artist,  The,  and  the  Beggar  -  -  -  io3 

Ascension  Heavenward  - 164 

Attachment  to  the  World  pre- 
vents the  Soul  going  out  after 

Heavenly  Things 15S 

Atonement,  The 117 

Autobiography,  A  Leaf  of 16S 

B. 

Barrn,  The  Mitherless  - 195 

Balance,  Weighed  in  the 11 15 

Balloon,  Up  in  a - 164 

Beggar,  The,  and  the  Artist  —  loS 

A,  and  Mr.  Moody 1 50 

Belfast,  A  Surgeon  in,  how  he 

performed  an  Operation 144 


8 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

,    Bereaved  Parents,  The 197 

Bereavement,  Rebellion  in 72 

Comfort  in —  161 

Bible,  Mr.  Moody's 97 

Well-perused 97 

Study  of  the 98 

A  Topical  Study  of  the  rec- 
ommended   98 

Should  be  studied  with  the 

Aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit--  98 

Neglected 99 

A  Key  10  the 100 

What  England  owes  to  the  103 

Open,  Result  of 103 

Closed  in  France,  Result  of  103 

Blazing  the  Way 121 

Blind  Man,  The,  Lantern  of  ■--  167 

Blood  upon  the  Doorpost 119 

The,  of  Christ 124 

A  Token  between  the  Soul 

and  God 158 

Precious 205 

Born  a  Christian  - 157 

■  Boston,  Mr.  Moody's  first  Visit 

to 160 

Bought  with  a  Price 120 

Boxes  for  those  Burned  Out  —  125 
Boy,  The  Little,  and  the  Pair  of 

Scissors 127 

The  Little  Norwegian 186 

The  New - 189 

Bridge-keeper,  The  neglectful--  185 
Broken-hearted  Mother,  The-89, 14° 
Brother,  A,  Converted,  through 

a  Sister's  Letter 66 

Burden,  Hugging  the 160 

None  too  great  for  the  Lord 

to  bear 161 

Business  Man,  Conversion  of  a-  83 

C. 

Cabman,  Mr,  Moody's 179 

California   and   the   Gold   Dig- 
gings  - 127 

Catastrophe,  Terrible,  through 

neglecting  Lights 166 

Cell,  Converted  in  a 85 

Chain,  The,  broken  by  Christ-  -  131 


PAGF. 

Charge,  The  Dying  Mother's  --  199 
Chastening  of  God  a  Proof  of 

His  Love 162 

Cheering  Word,  The,  its  Bene- 
ficial Effect 188 

Chicago  Fire,  The 125 

Child,  Question  of  a 70,  201 

The  Repentant 137 

Simple  Trust  of  a,  and  what 

came  of  it -  147 

I^'aith  of  a 148 

A  Saved '--  170 

The  Little,  and  the  Preci- 
pice---   179 

How  rescued  from  burning 

House 191 

The,  and  her  dead  Mother-   195 
The  dying,  and  his  Father-   195 

The  Loss  of  a 197 

Children,  Death  of,  God's  way 
of  calling  Parents  to  His 

Kingdom 162 

To  be  led  to  Christ  by  their 

Parents-- 199 

Christ,  Reception  of 67 

Sought  and  found 63 

The  Ark 77 

Lifted  up 79,  82 

Coming  to,  just  as  we  are  -   108 

Stepping  over 114 

The    Only  Keeper  of    the 

Law 115 

Love  of,  disregarded 117 

Our  Substitute 117 

The  Conqueror 120 

Our  Leader 121 

Paying  our  Debts 123 

Death  of 123 

Our  Redeemer 124 

Redeemed  by  the  Death  of  124 

The  Blood  of 124 

Saves  those   who  give   up 

"trying" - 126 

Breaking  the  Chain 131 

Love  of,  a  Type  of 132 

Hand  of,  power  and    sym- 
pathy in 133 

Scourged 134 


CONTENTS. 


I 


PAGE 

Christ,  Victory  of,  on  the  Cross    135 
Should  be  sought  with  the 

whole  heart 138 

Death    of,    its    Power    to 

Soften  the  Heart 140 

The  Hope  of  Salvation 144 

Faith  in,  bringing  immedi- 
ate liberty 157 

The  Upper  Light;  Believer 

the  lower 167 

Who  is  on  the  Side  of 182 

Those  witnessing  for,  loved 

by  the  Father 186 

Never  preached  a  Funeral 

Sermon 191 

The   Resurrection  and   the 

Life 191 

Christian,  The,  by  regeneration 

and  not  by  nature 1 57 

Sleep  of  the,  while   Souls 

are  in  danger 180 

Who  has  done  nothing  for 

the  Lord 186 

To  come  closer  to  his  fel- 
low-men for  their  salva- 
tion   169 

Circumstances,     Desperate,    of 

Mr.  Moodv  while  at  Boston--   160 
Cleveland  Harbor  and  its  two 

Lights  ----   166 

Closed  Bible  in  France,  Result 

of 103 

Comfort  in  Bereavement 161 

Commercial  Travellers  and 
what  they  said  of  regenera- 
tion  - 151 

Condemned  Man,  A,  how  he 
escaped  death T45 

Conversion  of  a  Young  Lady  --     61 

of  a  Lady 63 

and  Forgiveness  - 64 

ot  a  Son 65,  69 

of  a  Brother 66 

of  a  Soldier- - 67 

of  a  Merchant - 67 

of  a  Lad 69 

of  an  Infidel 71,  84 

of aFather,througaaDream    T^, 


PAGB 

Conversion  of  a  Young  Skeptic     74 
of      a    Husband,    through 

Prayer 75 

of  a  Publican -•     76 

of  a  Family     • 76,77 

of  a  Young  Man  about  to 

be  married 76 

Sudden 77 

of  a  Dying  Soldier 78 

of  a  Dog-fighter 80 

of  a  Jew 81 

of  a  Business  Man Zt, 

through   the   singing   of    a 

Hymn Zt^ 

Sudden,  Illustration  of 83 

of  a  Reporter 84 

of  a  Drunkard 84,  91,  93 

inaCell • 85 

of  a  Pr  soner 88 

at  a  Mother's  Grave 91 

of  a  Father  through  a  Son-     93 
of     a     Dissipated     Young 

Man 94 

of  a  Mother  and  Daughter-     94 

of  a  Scoffer 95 

of  a  Young  Man •-  101 

Convert,  Death  of  a 196 

Converts,  Mr.  Moody's  last  Chi- 
cago      75 

Conviction,  Sudden —     82 

Scoffing  changed  to 95. 

Cookman,    Alfred,    his     Dying 

Words 193 

Corpse,  a  Mother's,  Reconcilia- 
tion over 126 

Cripple,  The  Prayerful 177 

Cross,  All  One  at  the 205 

Cross,  Safety  alone  in  the 12c 

Cut  the  Cord 158 

D. 
Danger     of      Dividing     God's 
Word- 169 

Deacon's  Warning,  The no 

Dealings  of  God  in  Answer  to 
Prayer 148 

Death,   a    Young    Lady's,   just 

after  Conversion 62 


lO 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Death,  The  Necessity  of  Imme- 
diate Preparation  for 62 

of  a  Wife  recently  Brought 

to  Christ - 64 

Unexpected --  no 

of  Christ 123 

Happy,  of  a  Little   Street 

Boy 171 

And  the  Future  State 192 

Sting  of,  Extracted  - 192 

Fear  of.  Terrible 192 

Victory  over 192 

The,  of  a   Young  Convert 

by  Railway  Accident 197 

Deathbed  Scenes,  Two --  199 

Debts,  Paying  our --  121 

Depravity,  Human 104-108 

Difference  between  saying  We 
Trust  the   Lord  and  actually 

Trusting  Him--- ---  149 

Discouraged,  Do  n't  Get 182 

Dissipated  Young  Man,  Conver- 
sion of  a 94 

Divinity  of  the  Christian  Reli- 
gion seen  in  its  Effects 103 

Divine  Power  of  Love 175 

Doctrine  of  Substitution,  Napo- 
leon the   First's   Recognition 

of iiS 

Dog-fighter,  Story  of  a 80 

Domestic  Anecdote,  A 127 

Door,  A  Dublin,  and  a  Sinner's 

Heart 107 

Doorpost,  Blood  upon  the 119 

Doubts  Suggested  by  Satan  —  loi 
Dream,  A,  Leading  to  Conver- 
sion  >  72 

The  Skeptic's 202 

A  Remarkable  - —  177 

Drowned,  A  Mother  and  Babe-  132 

Drunkard,  Confession  of  a 84 

and   Infidel,  Confession  of 

a 92,93 

The,  and  Home 91 

The  Misery  of,  all  Changed 

by  Grace  - 153 

Drunkard's  Son,  The 92 


PAGB. 

Dublin  Door,  A,  and  a  Sinner's 

Heart-- • 107 

Duty  or  Love? 171 

Dying  Soldier,  Conversion  of  a-     78 
Child,  A,  and    His  Prayer 

for  His  Father 112 

Soldier,     The,     and      His 

Mother 132 

Soldier,  The,  and  His  Mes- 
sage to  His  Father 143 

Soldier,  The,  Answering  to 

the  Roll-Call 193 

Soldier,  The- 196 

Mother's  Charge,  The 199 

Lad,  The 199 

Man,  The,  and  the  Atone- 
ment of  Christ  194 

Domestic  Anecdote,  A 127 

E. 

Earnestness,  Importance  of 172 

Earthly    Things    Decrease    as 

Spirituality  Increases 165 

Effects  of  Religion,  Evidence  of 

Divinity 103 

of       Regeneration,       The 

Blessed 152 

Emancipation,  Joy  of  Slaves  at-   154 
Encouragement,  Reason  for,  in 

Preaching 184 

England,  What  it  Owes  to  the 

Bible 103 

Englishman,  An,  on  the  Book  of 

Job - 100 

Enthus'asm  for  Christ,  Mighty-   179 

Every  Man  a  Failure  - 116 

Experience,  Christian,  Regener- 
ation the  Foundation  of 151 

Experience,  Christian,  Necessity 
of  Having  Before  We  Talk  of 
Losing  it - —  160 

F. 

Failure,  Every  Man  a 116 

Faith,  Definition  of  Saving 141 

A  Mother's 68 

not  in  a   Church  nor   in  a 

Man, etc.,  but  in  Christ--  141 


CONTENTS, 


II 


PAGE. 

Faith  of  an  Old  Negress 142 

illustrated    by    the    Brazen 

Serpent 142 

looks  at  God,  and  God  only  147 

A  Child's 148 

and  Feeling 149 

may  exist  without  Feeling 

we  are  Saved 150 

The  Right  Kind  of  ------  150 

Any  Kind  will  do  which  ob- 
tains the  Blessing 150 

Faithfulness  of  Love 131 

For  God,  its  Reward 190 

Parental 200 

Family,  Conversion  of  a --    76 

A,  all  in  the  way  to  Heaven    77 
Father,  Conversion  of  a,  by  a 

Dream 73 

A,  forbidding  his  Child  to 

Pray • 92 

A,  Conversion  of,  by  a  Son    93 
A,  Prayed  for  by  his  Dying 

Child 112 

An  Angry,  and  a  Dissipated 

Son 126 

The     Sleeping,    and     the 

Child  - 180 

The,  in  Heaven 189 

Feelings  and  Faith 149 

Feelings  not   under  our    Con- 
trol  150 

Female,    A,    in    the    Inquiry- 
room - 157 

Fire,  A,  on  the  Prairie 125 

Fireman,  The  Courageous 191 

Following  Christ  - -  121 

Folly  of  those  Refusing  to  Be- 
lieve because  they  cannot 

Understand 152 

of  those  attempting  to  Row 
while  the  Boat  is  Moored  158 
Forgiveness  of   Injuries  Neces- 
sary  to    Finding   Peace  with 

God 65 

For  the  People  Burned  Out  at 

Chicago 125 

Foundation,   The,  of  Christian 
Experience  is  Regeneration--  151 


PAGE. 

Free !  Free  ! 154 

Gift,  The-- 118 

Freedom --' 128 

Blessed,  Bought  by  Christ  -  130 

of  the  Gospel 145 

Instantaneous,  by  Faith —  157 

Fruit,  not  Bearing  much -  178 

Future     State,    the.    Thoughts 
upon 192 

C. 

Gabriel,  What  he  would  say  —  181 

Gates,  Sweeping  through  the  --  193 

General,  The  Determined 188 

Genesis,  Book  of.  Study  of  the-  99 

Gift,  The  Free 118 

God's  Looking-glass 106 

God  to  be  Taken  at  His  Word-  146 

Loves  whom  He  Chastens-  162 
The  Love  of.  Importance  of 

Preaching  — 181 

Good  Mother,  The 93 

Gospel,     Non-appropriation    of 

the -  no 

Refusing  the no 

Illustration  of  the —  124 

Freedom  of  the 145 

Grace,   Power  of,   in  a   Young 

Skeptic - 74 

Salvation  only  by-- 78,  107 

Power    of,     to    change    a 
Drunkard's   Nature   and 

Home 153 

Growing  in —  164 

Grant,  General,  Heroism  of  ---  182 
Grave,  A  Mother's,  Repentance 

at 91 

No  Home  beyond  the 201 

H. 
Hand  of  Christ,  Sympathy  and 

Power  in  the ■•  133 

Harbor   of    Cleveland   and   its 

Two  Lights 166 

Hardness  of  Heart- 110-113 

H  a ve  you  got  the  Token  ? 1 58 

Heart,    The    Sinner's,    Locked 

and  Barred  like  a  Door--  107 


12 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Heart,  A  Light i6o 

A  Hardened 110-113 

Heart-breaking  Letter,  A 112 

Heaven,  What  will  make  it  so 

Delightful 195 

Heroine,  An  American 182 

"Higher  and  Higher,  Father"-   195 

"Hold  the  Fort,"  Origin  of 187 

Holy  Spirit,  Aid  of,  in  Studying 

the  Bible - 98 

Homely  Illustration  of  a  Sinner, 

An 115 

Hope,  None  for  those  who  try 

to  save  themselves 126 

Human  Depravity 104-108 

Hugging  the  Burden 160 

Husband,   Testimony   of    a,   to 

his  Wife's  Happy  Death 64 

Hymn,    A,    instrumental    in    a 

Conversion 83 

Hymn,  The,  "The  Gate's  Ajar 

for  Me" 197 

"  I  am  married  unto  you  " 155 

"I  died  for  you" 127 

Idiot's  Mother,  The 117 

Illustration,  An,  from  the  Ark--     77 

A  liome'y,  of  a  Sinner 115 

of  Redemption,  An 120,  124 

of  the  Gospel.  An 123 

of  how  Christ  Satisfies  the 

Desire  of  the  Soul,  An  --  127 
of  Christ's  Love,  An,  by  a 
Mother    Dying    for    her 

Son 128 

Of  God's  Love  to  Sinners, 

An 137 

Importance    of    having     One's 
Name  Written  in  the  Book  of 

Life 159 

Incident  in  South  Wales,  An  --     69 

Affecting,  An 130 

A  Striking,  in  Chicago 109 

Infidel,  Conversion  of  an 71,  84 

Injuries,  Forgiveness  of,  Neces- 
sary to  Peace 65 

Inquirer,  The,  and  Mr.  Moody  -  138 


PAGB. 

Instance,  A  Painful,  of  Unfaith- 
fulness in  Parents 200 

A  Delightful,  of  the  Bless- 
ing of  Parental  Faithful- 
ness  - --  200 

"It  is  Finished"  - 135 

J. 

Jesus,  "jyhy  not  Love 70 

takes  Us  as  We  are 146 

Jew,  Conversion  of  a 81 

Job,  The  Book  of,  a  Key  to  the 
Bible 100 

Joy  of  Slaves  at  News  of  Eman- 
cipation   129 

Judge,  The,  and   How  he  was 
Made  to  Preach 186 

Justification  by  Christ 124 

K. 

Key,  A,  to  the  Bible 100 

Kev,  The,  to  the  Study  of  the 

Bible 98 

Keep  the  Lower  Lights  Burn- 
ing - 166 

Kirk,   Dr.,    Preaching    on    the 

Cross 206 

King's  Pardon,  The  -- 128 

Kiss,  Saved  by  a 174 

L. 

Lad,  Conversion  of  a 69 

The  Dying 199 

Lady,  A  Young,  Conversion  of-     61 
A  Young,  Sudden  Death  of    62 
A  Young,  in  Philadelphia, 
How  she  had  not  found 

the  Lord 149 

A,    Starting    for  America, 

and  her  Precaution 159 

The  Young,  and  the  Little 

Street  Arab 170 

The  Young,  Killed  by  a 
Railway  Accident  — 196,  197 

Lamppost,  The  Man  at  the 189 

Landlord,  Afraid  of  the 134 

The  Hara-hearted 148 

Lantern,  The  Blind  Man's 167 


CONTENTS. 


x3 


PAGH. 

Lassie,  A  Scotch 146 

Last  Song,  The 201 

Law,  'Ihe,  God's  Looking-glass    106 

No  Salvation  by  the 107 

The,  Shows   us   our   True 

State 107 

Leaf,  A,  of  an  Autobiography--   16S 

Leadership  of  Christ 121 

Letter,  A  Mother's,  Leading*to 
the    Conversion    of     her 

Son 66 

A    Sister's,  Resulting   in  a 
Brother's  Conversion  —     66 

A  Mother's  Last 66 

A  Heart-breaking 112 

A,  to  Mr.  Moody  while   at 

Boston 160 

A  Sister's 196 

Life,  The  Uncertainty  of 62,  64 

The  Higher,  and  Sanctifica- 

tion --• 164 

The  Christian,  Twofold,  In- 
ner and  Outer 164 

The  Book  of 193 

Lights,  The  Lower  and  Higher-   166 

Line,  The,  Drawn  by  God 104 

Little  Boy,  Mr.  Moody's,  Faith 

lUustra'ted  by 146 

Little,   Nothing  Done  for  God 

can  be - 178 

Look  and  Live 142 

Loss,  The,  of  a  Child 197 

of  a  Soul 198 

Lost  in  the  Rapids 113 

Lost  Diamond  Ring,  The 13S 

Love  of  God,  All-Conquering--     71 

An  Illustration  of 136 

Faithfulness  of  True 130 

of  Christ,  A  Type  of  the  --   131 
Manifesting  itselt  in  Chas- 
tisement  -  163 

or  Duty.-* 171 

M. 
Magdalen,  The 176 

Man,  Young,  Angry  at  Inquiry, 

afterwards  Converted  —     67 
of  Business,  Conversign  of-     77 


PACE. 

Man,   Passing    Pardon    to    the 

Next loS 

Without  God  a  Failure 116 

A  Condemned,  How  he  Es- 
caped Death 145 

Reconciled  to  God  through 

the  Death  of  His  Son---  127 
Dying,    in      Glasgow,    and 

Lost  Time 185 

The,  and  the  New  Cent  ---  1S9 

at  a  Lamp-post 189 

Marriage  of  a  Young  Lady,  why 

Postponed J30 

A   Symbol   of    the    Union 
between  Christ  and   His 

People 155 

Men,    Some,    Hinder     Sinners 

Flying  to  the  Saviour 1^6 

Merchant,  a,  Conversion  of 68 

Mercy  in  Answer  to  Prayer 89 

Message,  A  Mother's  Last 66 

of    Dying    Soldier   to    his 

Father-- 143 

Millers,  The  Two 143 

Ministers,  Reasons  why  they  do 

not  Succeed 175 

"Moody  and  Sankey  Humbug," 

The. 95 

Moody,  Mr.,  Visit  to  an  African 

Church 129 

and  the  Inquirer ---  138 

and  the  Orchard 145 

Little  Boy  of 146 

and  a  Beggar 150 

and  his  Little  Girl 162 

ascending  Lofty  Mountains  165 
at  a  Sunday-school  in  Bos- 
ton   16S 

and  the  Cabman 179 

Morality     Insufficient     without 

Grace 107 

Mother,  Letter  from  a,  Result- 
ing in  Conversion -  65 

Last  Message  from  a 66 

A  Broken-hearted 89,  140 

The  Good 93 

and   Daughter,  Conversion 

of 94 


14 


CONTENTS, 


PAGE. 

Mother,  The  Idioc's 117 

Corpse  of  a,  Reconciliation 
Over 126 

Dying  for  her  Son 128 

and  Child  Drowned 132 

Visit  of  a,  to  a  Dying  Sol- 
dier    132 

and  Her  Little  Son 174 

Prayer  of  a,  Answered 174 

Forgiveness  of  a 176 

Forgiving  Power  of  a,  Like 
God 176 

Mysteries,    Divine,    Failure    of 

Reason  to  Understand 102 

Mystery  in  the  Natural  World 

no  liinderance  to  Faith--   151 
Regeneration  a 151 


N. 
Necessity,     The,    of      Seeking 

Christ  with  all  the  Heart 138 

Neglected  Bibles 99 

Negress,  the  Old,  Faith  of 142 

Net,  Pull  in  the 175 

Next   Man,  Passing   Pardon  to 

the 108 

Noah  and  the  Antediluvians  -••-  104 

his  Character 1S4 

Patience  of,  in  Preaching--   184 
No  Home  beyond  the  Grave---  201 
Non-appropriation  of  the  Gos- 
pel  because   Considered  Too 
Good,  An  Illustration  of  the  -   iic 
North     Star,     The,    a     Slave's 
Guide  to  the   Land  of   Free- 
dom   - 156 

No  Text  in  which  God  promises 
S al vati on  to  Feelings   150 

0. 

Officer,  Tne  Recruiting 83 

Old  Man,  An,  and  his  Reply---  152 

On  the  Mountain  Top 165 

Open  Bibles  in  England,  Result 

of 103 

Orphan's  Prayer,  The 147 


PAGE. 

P. 
Pardon,   Passing,   to  the    Next 

Man 108 

Assurance  of,  Gives  Confi- 
dence in  the  Day  of  Judg- 
ment  129 

The  King's 128 

Parents,  their  Prayer  Answered  68 

A  Few  Words  to 174 

The  Bereaved  ■ 19^ 

Unfaithfulness     of,     to      a 

Son- J99,  200 

Paying  Our  Debts J2i 

Penitence  of  a  Son  in  Presence 

of  his  Mother's  Corpse 140 

Peiilous  Adventure,  A 143 

Perseverance  in  Prayer 75 

Person,  A,  who  was  always  Try- 
ing to  do  some  Great  Thing--  177 
Picture  of  a  Slave  Escaping  —  157 

Power  of  Prayer -  75 

of  Sacred  Song 83 

of  Religion 93 

of  Chi ist's  Death 123,  140 

of  a  Loving  Touch 16S 

Prairie,  Fire  on  the 125 

Prayer,  A  Mother's,  Answered,  65,  67 

A  Sister's,  Answered 66 

Parents',  Answered 68 

Perseverance  in 75 

Power   of,   in    a    Christian 

Wife 75 

Forbidden  by  a  Father 92 

A   Dying    Child's,   for    his 

Father 112 

The  Orphan's 147 

to  be  Simple  and  Direct,  an 

Illustration  of 148 

Prayer-meeting,  A,  How  it  was 

Started ---  173 

Praying  for  Others 177 

Preacher,  The  Young  English--  18 r 

The,  and  the  Judge 186 

Preaching  to  Prisoners 85 

Precipice,  Falling  Over  the 179 

Price,  Bought  with  a 120 

Prisoners,  Preaching  to-- 85 

Prisoner,,  Repentance  of  a 87 


CONTENTS. 


IS 


PAGE. 

Prisoner,  Conversion  of  a 88 

Profession,    Christian,    but    no 

Service 178 

Publican,  Conversion  of  a 76 

Purchase  of  Salvation  Impossi- 
ble-   119 


Q. 

Question,  A  Child's 


-70,  201 


Railway  Ticket,  A 

Railway,   P'atal   Accident    to   a 

Young  Convert  on  a 

Rapids,  Lost  in  the 

Reason,    Failure  of,  to   Under- 
stand Divine  Mysteries 

Rebellion  against  God  in  Afflic- 
tion  

Reception  of  Christ-  - 

Recognition  of  Doctrine  of  Sub- 
stitution  

Reconciliation  over  a   Mother's 

Corpse 

of    God    to    Man   through 

Christ's  Death 

Recruiting  Officer,  The 

Redemption,  An  Illustration  of- 

by  Christ's  Death 

The,  of  Christ  Complete  -- 

Refusing  the  Gospel    

Regeneration  the  Foundation  of 

Christian  Experience 

Effects  of 

A  Birth  from  Above  ------ 

Regrets  Vain  when  Opportuni- 
ties are  Lost 

Rejection  of  Warning 

Religion,  Power  of 

Effects  of,  Evidence  of  its 

Divine  Origin 

Neglected,      Resulting      in 

Hardness  of  Heart 

Repentance,  Definition  of  --'    - 

of  a  Prisoner 

of  a  Son 

of  a  Child 

Reporter,  Conversion  of  a 


158 

197 
113 


72 
67 

118 
126 

127 

83 
120 
124 

135 
no 

152 
158 


185  I 

93 
102 
112 

.36 

'37  1 


PAGE. 

Revival,  A,  How  Begun 174 

A,     through     a     Cripple's 

Prayer 177 

Revivalist,'  An  Octogenarian---  177 

Respectable  Sinners 105 

Richmond,  How  Taken 183 

Right  Translation,  The loi 

Righteousness,  Self,  its  unavail- 
ing Character 108 

Right  Kind  of  Faith,  The 150 

Ring,  The  Lost  Diamond 138 

Roll-Call,  the,  Answering  to  —  193 
Rope   of   Salvation,  Christ   the 

Sinner's  only 144 

S. 

Safety  at  the  Cross  Alone 125 

Salvation  by  Grace  Alone 77 

not  by  the  Law 107 

A  Free  Gift 119 

to  be  Sought  for  beyond  all 

Worldly  Wealth 138,  139 

Sanctification   and   the    Higher 

Life---  164 

Satan,  Doubts  Suggested  by —  loi 

Saved  Child,  A 170 

Saviour,  Sinners  Flying  to  the. 
Hindered  by    Some,  Helped 

by  Others 156 

Scene,  A  Dark -- 196 

Scenes,  Two  Deathbed 199 

Scoffer,  Conversion  of  a 96 

Scoffing  Changed  to  Conviction  96 

Scotch  Lassie,  A 146 

Scourging,  Roman  Custom  of--  133 

Self-righteousness  Unavailing--  108 

Sermon,  A  Funeral 191 

Serpent,   The   Brazen,    Illustra- 

ing  Faith 142 

Shepherd,  A,  and  How  he  made 

his  Flock  cross  a:  River 161 

Sherman,  General,  Message  of  -  187 

Ship  oii  Fire 128 

The     First,     to     Proclaim 

Emancipation 154 

Shop-girl  in  Chicago,  Circum- 
stances wholly  Changed  by 
Marriage,     illustrating     what 


i6 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Christ    brings  to   those   who 

receive  Him 155 

Short  of  the  Standard io5 

Simple  Trust,  A  Child's 147 

Sin,   Blind  ng    to   a     Sense    of 

Guilt 86 

All  Included  In 104,  106 

in  One  Pont,  Guilty  in  AH-   116 
Covered  by  Christ's  Blood-  124 
Emancipation      from,     the 
Cause  of  Joy  in  Heaven  -  154 
Singing    in    a     Sunday-school, 

Good  Effects  of • 170 

Sinner,  Heart  of,  and  a  Dublin 

Door 107 

Homely  Illustration  of  a-  -  -  115 
Regardless  of  Christ's  Love  117 
to  come   to   Christ,  Chain 

and  all 132 

afraid  of  God,  and  Why---  134 
should  look  on  Christ,  and 

not  at  his  Sins 145 

Sinners,  Respectable 105 

Sister,  A,  her  Letter  Leading  to 

Conversion 66 

Skeptic,  The,  Subdued- 74 

The,  Silenced 102 

Slave  Escaping  to  Canada,  Free- 
dom by  Crossing  the  Bound- 
ary  156 

Slaves,  Anxiety  to  hear  of  their 

Emancipation  — 154 

When  Liberated.  Rejoicing 

of 154 

and  North  Star 1 56 

Soldier,  Conversion  of  a 67 

The  Dying 78,  132,  196 

Soldiers,    Loyalty    of,   to    their 

General 188 

Son,  A,  his  Conversion  through 

a  Mother's  Letter --  65 

Conversion   of    a,   through 

Parents' Prayers ---  68 

The  Drunkard's 92 

The  Abandoned [14 

The  Dissipated,  and  an  An- 
gry Father 12^ 

The  Repentant --  136 


PAGE. 

Son,  a  Mother  Dying  for  her,  aji 
Illustration     of     Christ's 

Love • 128 

Ungrateful,  Remembered  in 

his  Father's  Will 137 

Song,  Sacred,  Power  of 83 

The  Last 201 

Sorrows    - 160 

Soul,   The,   filled   with   Christ, 

wants  nothing  else 127 

The,  and  Regions  of  Eter- 
nal Peace 166 

Value  of  One 172 

Importance    of      Speaking 
concerning  the  Salvation 

of 179 

The  Loss  of  the 198 

Speaking  for  God  Divinely  Hon- 
ored   190 

Spurgeon,  Mr.,  and  the   Photo- 
graphs of  his  Sons 164 

Standard,  Short  of  the 105 

Star,  The  North,  and  Slaves —  156 

Starless  Crowns - 178 

Stepping  over  Christ 115 

Storms    and    Tempests    in    the 

Passage  to  Mountain  Summits  165 

Story  of  a  Dog-fighter So 

Study  of  the  Bible,  Mr.  Moody 

on  the 98 

of  Genesis 99 

Subjects,   Solemn,   Wickedness 

of  Mockery  of iio 

Substitution 117 

Success,  Ministerial,  How  to  be 

Obtained 176 

Sudden  Conver^aon- 77,  83 

Summits   of     Mountains   above 

Storms  and  Tempests 165 

Sunday-school  Teacher,  The  —  172 

Dying,  and  his  Class 172 

Surgeon  and  Patient 144 

T. 

"  Take  " • 14=; 

Telegram,  The 159 

Terrible  Catastrophe,  A,  through 

neglecting  to  keep  up  Lights-  167 


CONTENTS. 


17 


PAGE. 

Testimony,  The,  of  a  Husband 

to  his  Wife's  Happy  Death  -  -     64 
Time  lost  which  is  not  spent  for 

Christ 139 

Token,  the,  Have  you  got? 152 

Too  Late 196,  201 

Topical  Study  of  the  Bible  rec- 
ommended     98 

Touch,  Loving,  Power  of  a 168 

Translation,  The  Right loi 

Trust,   A   Child's   Simple,   and 

what  came  of  it 147 

Type,  A,  of  Christ's  Love 131 

\ 
U. 
Unable  to  Pay  Rent,  typical  of 

the  Sinner -- 134 

Unavai  ing  Character  of    Self- 

righteousness 108-1 10 

Unbelief 104 

Changed  to  Conviction 82 

Unfaithfulness  to  a  Son  in  Pa- 
rents  199,  200 

Unity,  Power  of,  among  Chris- 
tians   -  182 

What  is  Wanted  for  the 
Promotion  of  the  Work 
of  God 182,  183 

V. 

Value,  The,  of  Fifty  Years 139 

Victory,  The,  of  Christ  on  the 

Cross 135 

Visit,    Mr.    Moody's    First,    to 

Boston 160 


W. 

War  Story,  An  Affecting 130 

Warning,  The  Deacon's no 

The  Rejected 113 

Way,  Blazing  the 121 

Weighed  in  the  Balance 115 

What  God  cannot  do 124 

What  the  World  Believes 141 

Who'll  Receive  Him? (fj 

"  Whosoever  " 118 

Wife,     Christian,      Power     of 

Prayer  in 75 

The  Drunkard'-: 91 

Wilberforce  and  Negro  Slavery    154 

Woman,  Poor,  and  l3r.  Arnot--   134 

A  Drunken,  how  Rescued--   174 

Poor  Fallen,  how  Saved  —   176 

Word  of   God  to  be  Regularly 

Studied 98 

Word,  the  Cheering 188 

Words,  A  few,  to  Parents 174 

Work,  Reasons  why  Christians 

Break  Down  in 172 

How  to  set  to 173 

World,  The,  what  it  Believes  --  141 
Worldly  Affairs,  Blinding  Power 
of,  on  the  Soul 113 

Y. 

Years,  Fifty,  The  Value  of 139 

Young  Man,  a  Dissipated,  Con- 
version of 94 

Young   Lady,  a.  Touching  Ac- 
count of  the  Conversion  of---     6i 


2*  ffUFIVBRSIT 


;im.i^ 


0^  XHB 


FI7BRS1T7J 


\ 


DWIQHT  L.  JVIOODY. 

'T^HE  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  at  Northfield, 
Mass.,  February  5,  1837,  ^t  which  place  his  ancestors 
had  lived  since  its  first  settlement  in  1673.  When  little 
over  four  years  of  age  his  father  was  suddenly  attacked 
with  violent  pain  while  at  his  work,  and  in  an  hour  or  two 
expired  on  his  knees.  Mrs.  Moody  was  thus  left  a  widow, 
with  seven  young  children,  of  whom  Dwight  Lyman 
was  the  sixth,  and  an  acre  or  two  of  land  encumbered 
with  debt.  To  add  to  her  difficulties,  a  month  after 
twins  were  born. 

Under  such  an  accumulation  of  trouble  many  would 
have  been  utterly  crushed  ;  but  the  noble  woman,  with  a 
strength  and  heroism  that  only  a  firm  faith  in  the  Unseen 
could  give,  courageously  faced  the  difficulties  of  the  posi- 
tion, and  with  a  little  aid  managed  to  keep  her  family 
together.  Uniting  the  duties  of  both  parents,  she  not 
only  toiled  and  contrived  for  their  temporal  wants,  but 
instructed  their  minds  in  those  Christian  truths  which 
are  able  to  make  wise  unto  salvation. 

To  add  to  her  sorrows,  one  of  her  elder  sons,  from 
whom  she  should  have  received  help  and  sympathy,  be- 
came wild  and  left  home.  We  will  let  Mr.  Moody  tell 
the  touching:  tale  of  his  return  in  his  own  words  : 


20  D.  L.  MOODY, 

"I  well  remember  the  long  winter  nights  when  we 
all  sat  round  the  fire,  how  mother  would  go  on  telling  us 
all  about  our  father  and  his  goodness — she  was  never 
tired  of  talking  about  him.  But  if  any  of  us  mentioned 
oiir  eldest  brother,  all  would  be  hushed  in  a  moment. 
She  never  could  speak  of  him  without  tears.  She  said 
it  would  have  eased  her  heart,  even  to  know  he  was 
dead.  *  I  do  n't  know/  she  would  say,  *  but  he  is  lying 
sick  in  some  foreign  land,  with  nobody  to  watch  over 
him.'  I  do  believe  she  would  have  gone  all  round  the 
world  to  find  him.  Some  nights  I  used  to  hear  that 
mother's  voice  praying  for  that  boy.  Ah  !  how  she  used 
to  pour  out  her  heart  in  prayer  to  God  for  her  wandering 
son  ;  and  when  on  winter  nights  a  great  gale  would  come 
sweeping  and  howling  along,  she  would  turn  pale,  and, 
in  a  voice  choked  by  sobs,  would  say :  *  Perhaps  my  boy 
is  at  sea  with  the  gale  blowing,  and  in  peril  of  going 
down.'  Well,  on  one  particular  day  there  was  always  a 
family  gathering  to  thank  God  for  the  harvest,  and  on 
this  occasion  she  always  put  a  chair  for  him,  but  the 
chair  was  always  empty.  Many  and  many  a  time  have 
I  gone  to  the  window  in  the  hope  that  I  should  see  him 
coming  up  the  garden-walk  to  cheer  our  mother's  heart, 
but  all  was  in  vain — he  did  n't  come.  And  so  time  rolled 
on  ;  the  step  that  was  once  so  firm  became  feeble,  and 
the  hair  that  was  black  as  night  became  silvery  gray. 
How  she  loved  that  boy!  But  amid  all  this  disappoint- 
ment she  held  fast  to  the  hope  that  she  would  yet  see 
him  come  back  before  she  died.     One  day,  as  she  sat  in 


I 


D.  L.  MOODY,  21 

the  little  cottage,  her  twin  children  with  her,  (for  the 
rest  of  us  had  gone  away  into  the  world,  one  in  one 
direction,  and  another  in  another,  to  fight  the  battle  of 
life,)  she  saw  a  stranger  coming  through  the  gate.  At 
first,  she  did  not  recognize  that  boy,  with  his  long  beard 
and  altered  face,  but  when  she  saw  the  tears  straggling 
down  his  cheeks,  the  truth  flashed  on  her  in  an  instant, 
and  she  sprang  to  him  with  the  words :  '  Come  in,  come 
in.'  '  No,  mother,'  he  said,  '  I  will  not  until  you  forgive 
me — never.'  Do  you  believe  she  forgave  him  .?  For- 
gave him  !  She  threw  her  arms  round  him  and  kissed 
him — the  dead  was  alive,  the  lost  was  found  !  I  cannot 
tell  yoLi  the  joy  that  welled  up  in  my  heart  when  I  heard 
the  news  that  my  poor,  long-lost  brother  had  come  home 
again ;  but  this  I  know,  the  tears  were  wiped  away  from 
that  mother's  eyes,  and  the  sunshine  of  happiness  was  in 
her  heart  again." 

Young  D wight  seems,  as  a  boy,  to  have  possessed  an 
unusual  amount  of  muscular  strength  and  animal  spirits, 
with  a  strong  will  that  knew  little  of  impossibility  or 
submission.  When  only  six  years  old,  being  wistful  to 
do  something  to  help  his  mother,  he  was  set  to  drive  the 
cows  of  a  neighboring  farmer  to  and  from  their  mountain 
pasture.  On  one  occasion  a  heavy  fence  fell  upon  him, 
from  which  he  could  not  extricate  himself.  After  trying 
his  utmost  and  crying  as  loud  as  he  could  for  help,  but 
in  vain,  the  thought  struck  him  that  God  would  help  him 
if  he  asked  him.  In  his  own  simple  language  he  called 
on  his  mother's  God  for  help,  and  then  made  another 


22  D.  L.  MOODY. 

effort,  and  succeeded  in  getting  free.  This  circumstance 
seems  to  have  made  a  vivid  impression  on  his  young  heart. 

At  a  proper  age  he  was  sent  to  the  district  school, 
which  he  attended  till  after  he  was  sixteen,  but  when  he 
left,  his  education  was  exceedingly  imperfect.  Indifferent 
reading  and  writing,  worse  spelling,  with  a  very  small 
modicum  of  arithmetic,  were  all  the  attainments  he  could 
boast  of.  This  must  not  be  considered  as  a  reflection 
upon  the  competence  of  the  school  authorities,  who  no 
doubt  did  their  best  ;  but  is  to  be  attributed  to  the 
inherent  love  of  fun  and  mischief  that  distinguished  their 
pupil,  which  so  sorely  taxed  the  patience  of  his  teacher 
that  on  one  occasion  he  threatened  to  have  him  expelled 
from  the  school. 

Thus,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  we  find  him,  ignorant 
and  rustic  in  manner,  shabby  and  unfashionable  in  attire, 
but  with  a  physical  constitution  of  iron,  and  a  proud 
self-will  to  match,  leaving  his  mountain  home  for  the 
commercial  emporium  of  Boston,  to  fight  his  way  through 
the  world.  A  student  of  human  nature  would  have  de- 
tected in  him  an  immense  amount  of  undeveloped  power 
for  good  or  evil,  but  as  unlikely  as  possible  to  become  a 
preacher  of  the  Gospel. 

His  mother's  brother,  Mr.  S.  Holton,  who  kept  a  boot 
and  shoe  store  in  Boston,  received  him  into  his  employ 
with  some  amount  of  misgiving,  and  imposed  the  condi- 
tions that  he  was  not  to  be  out  in  the  streets  at  night,  or 
to  visit  places  of  worldly  amusement ;  and  that  he  was 
to  attend  the  Mount  Vernon  Church  and  Sunday-school. 


D.  L.  MOODY.  23 

His  first  efforts  at  business  were  of  a  satisfactory  and 
characteristic  order.  He  would  stand  at  the  door  ready 
to  meet  all  comers,  and,  when  no  customers  came,  would 
go  out  into  the  street  to  see  whom  he  could  meet  with 
that  looked  like  persons  requiring  boots  and  shoes  ;  and 
thus,  before  he  had  been  three  months  in  the  store  he 
had  sold  more  goods  than  any  of  his  fellow-salesmen. 

To  the  Congregational  Church  of  Mount  Vernon,  then 
under  the  pastorate  of  Dr.  Kirk,  young  Moody,  according 
to  agreement,  wended  his  way,  and  was  duly  entered  in 
the  Sabbath-school,  and  placed,  in  a  class  under  the  care 
of  Mr.  E.  Kimball,  whose  efforts  at  first  seemed  destined 
to  meet  with  as  little  success  as  those  of  the  village 
schoolmaster ;  but  Mr.  Kimball  was  a  man  of  God,  who 
had  the  salvation  of  his  scholars  near  his  heart,  and  one 
day  he  called  upon  young  Moody  at  his  uncle's  store,  and 
placing  his  hand  on  his  shoulder,  asked  him  if  he  would 
give  his  heart  to  Christ.  It  arrested  him ;  led  him  to 
sincere  repentance  ;  and  shortly  afterwards  he  received 
the  assurance  of  pardon. 

Having  now  become  a  partaker  of  Divine  grace,  he 
very  soon  gave  evidence  that  he  had  no  intention  of 
being  a  silent  Christian ;  for  he  began  at  once,  on  all 
available  occasions  in  connection  with  the  church,  to 
speak  of  the  change  of  heart  that  he  had  experienced ; 
and  being  anxious  to.  identify  himself  with  the  Lord's 
people,  he  presented  himself  as  a  candidate  for  mem- 
bership in  the  Mount  Vernon  Church.  It  would  appear, 
however,  that  the  doors  of  this  church  were  most  strictly 


24  D.  L.  MOODY. 

guarded,  for  not  only  had  candidates  to  give  a  satisfac- 
tory account  of  their  rehgious  experience,  but  had  also 
to  undergo  an  examination  in  theological  doctrine. 
Moody  not  being  able  to  give  a  systematic  definition 
of  the  various  points  of  faith — though  no  doubts  were 
expressed  us  to  the  genuineness  of  his  conversion — was 
refused  admission  into  the  church  for  the  time,  and 
advised  to  remain  outside  its  pale  till  his  mind  v;as  bet- 
ter informed  !  A  lad  with  less  mettle  in  him  might  have 
been  turned  aside  under  such  discouragements ;  and  the 
Day  of  Judgment  alone  will  reveal  how  much  youthful 
but  sincere  zeal  has  been  lost  to  Christ  and  the  world 
by  the  coldness  and  discouragements  of  senior  profes- 
sors. Six  months  after,  (May,  1855,)  a  second  applica- 
tion met  with  more  success,  and  he  was  duly  enrolled 
as  a  church-member. 

New  difficulties  now  beset  his  religious  course.  Feel- 
ing within  him  an  unconquerable  desire  for  the  salvation 
of  his  fellow-men,  he  commenced  praying  and  speaking 
at  every  meeting  he  attended,  which  soon  raised  the  ire 
of  the  elder  and  quieter  members,  till  the  pastor  himself 
was  induced  to  try  his  skill  at  damping  this  youthful 
ardor  and  apparent  indiscretion.  He  might  as  well  have 
attempted  to  have  put  an  extinguisher  on  Vesuvius ! 
Young  Moody  endeavored  to  make  the  best  of  his  posi- 
tion for  some  time,  but  feeling  like  a  caged  eagle,  and 
longing  for  greater  freedom  of  action,  after  five  months' 
church-membership  he  left  Boston  for  the  far  West. 

He  arrived  at  Chicago  in   September,   1855,  which 


D.  L.  MOODY,  2S 

city  was  destined  to  become  to  him  a  field  of  missionary 
work  and  success  seldom  equalled  in  the  annals  of  Chris- 
tian labor.  He  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  situation  in  the 
boot  and  shoe  store  of  Mr.  Wismall,  who  says  of  him  at 
this  time :  *'  His  habits  were  exact  and  economical.  As 
a  salesman,  he  was  just  the  same  zealous  and  tireless 
worker  he  afterwards  became  in  religion."  He  prided 
himself  in  selling  the  greatest  number  of  boots,  and  thus 
securing  the  largest  amount  of  profit,  of  all  that  were 
employed  in  the  store. 

The  clerks  and  warehousemen  in  the  neighborhood 
being  anxious  to  cultivate  friendly  acquaintanceship  and 
promote  mutual  mental  improvement,  established  a  de- 
bating class  in  Mr.  Wismall's  store,  where,  on  certain 
evenings,  they  would  meet  to  discuss  theological  and 
political  subjects.  Among  other  questions,  that  of  sla- 
very was  then  the  most  prominent  in  American  politics ; 
and  Moody,  true  to  his  Massachusetts  training,  made  no 
scruple  to  avow  himself  an  ardent  Abolitionist. 

Moody  had  also  inherited  another  peculiarity  of  the 
Bay  State — puritanical  ideas  respecting  pastimes  and 
amusements;  and  on  one  occasion,  coming  suddenly 
upon  some  of  his  fellow-clerks  playing  a  game  of 
draughts,  he  somewhat  rudely  broke  the  board  to  pieces, 
fell  on  his  knees,  and  commenced  praying  for  the  aston- 
ished delinquents. 

His  first  effort  at  missionary  work  in  Chicago  was  to 
hire  four  pews  in  the  Plymouth  Congregational  Church, 
which  he  had  joined,  and  to  induce  a  sufificient  number 

8 


26  D.  Z.  MOODY. 

of  young  men  to  attend  service  to  fill  them.  Finding", 
however,  some  amount  of  discouragement  again  from  the 
church  on  account  of  his  frequent  praying  and  speaking, 
he  was  induced  to  attend  a  Methodist  class-meeting,  and 
to  identify  himself  with  a  mission  band  in  connection 
with  that  community — a  band  of  young  men  who  devoted 
their  Sabbath  mornings  to  visiting  and  distributing  tracts 
in  various  parts  of  the  city.  While  engaged  in  this 
capacity  he  fell  in  with  a  small  Sunday-school,  and  ex- 
pressed a  desire  to  the  superintendent  to  be  allowed  to 
labor  as  a  teacher  therein.  That  official,  unlike  many 
other  Sabbath-school  superintendents,  happened  to  be 
burdened  with  too  many  teachers  already ;  but  gave  him 
permission  to  teach  as  many  new  scholars  as  he  could 
himself  induce  to  attend  the  school.  Nothing  daunted 
by  such  a  condition,  which  some  young  men  would  have 
considered  an  insult  to  their  dignity,  he  set  to  work, 
and  the  next  Sunday  walked  in  at  the  head  of  eighteen 
ragged  lads,  bareheaded  and  barefooted ! 

The  sailors  in  the  river  next  attracted  his  attention, 
and  he  began  in  the  spring  of  1857  to  devote  his  Sunday 
mornings  to  their  spiritual  welfare  by  distributing  tracts 
and  Testaments,  giving  spiritual  advice,  holding  prayer- 
meetings  in  the  vessels  where  practicable,  visiting  the 
sailors'  boarding-houses,  and  sometimes,  by  way  of 
change,  the  hospitals  and  jails  of  the  city.  Thus  his 
entire  being  seemed  absorbed  in  the  one  great  object  of 
saving  men  from  ruin,  and  spreading  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom. 


D.  L.  MOODY.  27 

There  existed  at  that  time  in  Chicago  a  notoriously 
wicked  and  depraved  locality,  known  as  "  The  Sands." 
It  was  the  resort  of  gamblers,  thieves,  harlots,  and  all 
that  was  corrupt.  To  this  moral  cesspool,  neglected  and 
given  up  in  despair  by  the  various  religious  institutions 
of  the  city,  Moody  determined  to  devote  his  energies. 
A  saloon  near  the  North  Market  was  rented,  and  a 
Sunday-school  commenced  in  good  earnest.  Among  the 
by-streets  of  the  Sands  he  wended  his  way  Sabbath  after 
Sabbath,  seeking  the  neglected  and  the  forgotten,  the 
vagrant  and  the  outcast.  To  him  but  one  idea  presented 
itself — the  greater  the  sinner,  the  greater  the  need  of 
the  Saviour;  and  in  view  of  this  all  other  difficulties 
vanished  like  the  morning  cloud.  Finding  neither  tracts 
nor  Testaments  of  much  use  to  gain  the  confidence  and 
attendance  of  the  wretched,  half-clad  children  of  this 
district,  he  was  induced  to  try  the  power  of  sweets,  and 
filling  his  pockets  with  maple-sugar,  would  sally  forth 
on  his  errand  of  kindness. 

Having  by  these  means  secured  a  large  attendance 
of  ragged  urchins,  the  next  question  was  what  to  do  with 
them.  In  such  a  sphere  of  labor  few  could  be  found 
with  sufficient  courage  and  self-denial  to  engage ;  but  he 
succeeded  in  inducing  two  friends  to  cast  in  their  lot 
with  him.  These  three  worthies  appear  to  have  had 
their  patience  and  wits  taxed  to  the  utmost  to  quell  dis- 
putes, separate  combatants,  and  otherwise  preserve  some 
semblance  of  order.  Notwithstanding  these  untoward 
circumstances  the  undertaking  prospered.     The  saloon 


28  D.  L.  MOODY, 

soon  became  too  small,  and  a  larger  room  over  the  North 
Market  was  secured,  for  which  Moody  set  to  work  col- 
lecting funds  for  seats.  Having  secured  the  services  of 
Mr.  J.  V.  Farwell  as  superintendent,  in  addition  to  his 
other  two  faithful  coadjutors,  he  set  to  work,  with  re- 
newed zeal  and  a  replenished  stock  of  maple-sugar,  beat- 
ing up  new  scholars,  and  within  a  year  of  the  opening  of 
this  hall  the  average  attendance  had  reached  650.  His 
missionary  excursions  in  the  Sands  often  exposed  him 
to  persecution,  and  sometimes  he  had  to  run  for  his  life ; 
but  defeat  and  discouragement  were  meaningless  terms 
to  him,  and  in  spite  of  all  difficulties  the  school  pros- 
pered, and  began  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  religious 
comm^unity,  till  volunteers  at  last  came  forward  in  abun- 
dance to  take  part  in  the  work  of  teaching. 

To  estimate  the  results  of  the  six  years'  labor  in  con- 
nection with  this  remarkable  school,  would  be  utterly 
impossible.  Many  who  were  thus  picked  up  from  the 
lowest  dregs  of  the  population,  became  useful  and 
respectable  members  of  society,  and  true  and  devoted 
Christians.  One  cold  day  in  February,  a  poor  lad,  with 
an  old  and  tattered  overcoat  round  his  body,  and  his  legs 
wrapped  in  paper  as  a  substitute  for  trousers,  presented 
himself  at  the  school-door.  Moody  gave  him  a  welcome, 
and  at  once  placed  him  in  a  class.  That  lad  became  a 
true  Christian  gentleman,  occupied  a  position  command- 
ing a  large  salary,  and  held  the  post  of  superintendent 
of  an  important  Sunday-school,  On  one  occasion,  the 
school  was  visited  by  President  Lincoln,  who  gave  an 


D.  L.  MOODY.  29 

address  to  the  scholars.  Thus  the  labors  of  this  self- 
denying  man,  began  among  difficulties  that  would  have 
made  most  men  quail,  were  crowned  by  the  Great  Head 
of  the  church  with  abundant  honor  and  success. 

In  the  meantime  he  had  cast  his  lot  with  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  of  Chicago,  and  in  connec- 
tion therewith  had  been  made  a  great  blessing.  One  of 
its  institutions  was  a  noonday  prayer-meeting,  which  had 
fallen  into  lamentable  neglect,  and  one  day  the  attend- 
ance consisted  of  one  old  Scotchwoman,  who  went 
through  the  entire  service  by  herself.  Hearing  of  this, 
Mr.  Moody  set  to  work  with  his  accustomed  fervor  of 
spirit,  and  in  a  short  time  secured  a  large  and  regular 
attendance. 

In  the  midst  of  all  these  labors  for  Christ,  he  still 
continued  faithfully  to  attend  to  his  employer's  interests ; 
and  after  serving  Mr.  Wismall  two  years,  made  an  en- 
gagement to  act  in  the  capacity  of  commercial  traveller 
to  Mr.  C.  N.  Henderson.  Whatever  the  length  of  his 
journey,  or  distance  from  home,  he  would  always  man- 
age to  return  at  the  week's  end  in  time  for  his  Sunday's 
labors ;  and  for  this  purpose  was  allowed,  by  the  kind- 
ness of  the  railway  manager  over  whose  lines  he  had  to 
travel,  a  free  pass  to  and  fro.  But  his  ardent  soul 
longed  for  a  more  entire  devotion  to  the  work  of  God  ; 
and  after  much  prayer,  being  assured  of  the  leadings  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  he  relinquished  all  business  engage- 
ments, and  decided  to  give  all  his  time  to  the  work  of 

God.     It  was  an  act  of  faith.     No  society  offered  him  a 

3* 


30  D.  L.  MOODY. 

salary,  neither  did  he  seek  for  one.  "  God,"  said  he  to 
a  friend,  "  will  provide  for  me  if  he  wishes  me  to  keep 
on,  and  I  shall  keep  on  till  I  am  obliged  to  stop."  To 
this  resolution  he  has  always  adhered.  He  has  never 
received  a  salary  from  any  individual  or  institution,  and 
since  he  relinquished  business  has  never  engaged  in  any 
commercial  undertaking  or  speculation.  God  has  some- 
times severely  tried  his  faith,  and  he  has  been  reduced  to 
the  verge  of  want,  but  help  has  always  come.  He  has 
since  had  abundant  opportunity  of  amassing  money,  but 
has  stood  firm  by  his  original  decision  and  given  up  all 
for  Christ. 

Out  of  the  small  amount  he  had  saved,  he  invested  in 
a  pony,  in  order  to  extend  his  labors  throughout  the 
city,  mounted  on  which  he  might  be  seen  hunting  up 
the  street  Arabs ;  and  he  would  sometimes  arrive  at  the 
school-door  with  the  animal  almost  covered  with  young 
ragamuffins  of  all  sizes,  followed  by  a  string  of  others 
holding  on  to  its  tail  or  to  each  other. 

The  year  1861  will  always  be  remembered  with  sorrow 
in  connection  with  one  of  the  most  dreadful  episodes  of 
modern  history,  the  great  American  Rebellion,  in  which 
men  of  the  same  race,  speaking  the  same  language,  and 
professing  the  same  faith,  were  engaged  in  deadly  strife. 
Shortly  after  the  commencement  of  the  war  a  camp  was 
formed  near  the  city  of  Chicago.  Such  an  unusual 
opportunity  for  doing  good  was  not  likely  to  escape  the 
observation  of  a  man  like  Moody,  who  at  once  organized 
a  committee  and  established  a  regular  system  of  visita- 


D.  L.  MOODY.  31 

tion,  public  worship,  and  prayer-meetings  among  the 
troops.  So  great  was  the  success  of  this  undertaking 
that  the  committee  had  very  shortly  to  appeal  for  help, 
and  one  hundred  and  fifty  Christian  workers  were  found 
to  volunteer  their  services.  Of  this  body  of  laborers 
Mr.  Moody  was  the  mainspring  of  action  ;  himself  con- 
stantly at  the  work,  rushing  from  tent  to  tent  and  from 
camp  to  camp,  preaching,  praying,  and  conversing  with 
the  soldiers. 

The  result  was  that  many  of  these  men  were  con- 
verted to  God,  and  after  the  war  was  over,  became 
useful  members  of  Christian  churches.  When  the  news 
arrived  of  the  action  at  Fort  Donelson,  February  13, 
1862,  it  was  resolved  to  send  a  special  committee  to  the 
field  of  battle,  and  Mr.  Moody,  Dr.  Patterson,  and  Mr. 
Jacobs,  were  selected  for  that  purpose. 

A  new  sphere  of  action  was  now  open  to  him,  into 
which  he  threw  himself  with  his  wonted  energy,  during 
the  whole  four  years  of  that  sanguinary  struggle.  To 
visit  the  field  of  battle,  to  administer  the  consolations  of 
religion  to  the  wounded  and  dying,  was  a  work  he  was 
well  qualified  to  perform.  It  was  in  this  school  that  the 
Lord  was  training  his  servant  for  the  great  work  of  show- 
ing sinners  the  nearest  and  shortest  way  to  salvation. 
Souls  within  an  hour  or  two,  and  in  some  cases  only  a  few 
minutes  of  eternity,  required  to  know  in  as  simple  words 
as  possible  what  they  should  do  to  be  saved,  and  to  them 
a  willing  Saviour  and  a  present  salvation  were  questions 
of  vital  importance.     In  this  way  many  precious  souls. 


32  D.  L.  MOODY. 

in  death,  far  from  friends  and  home,  were  led  to  find 
refuge  and  hope  in  Christ. 

About  10,000  Southern  prisoners  having  been  lodged 
at  Camp  Douglas,  Mr.  Moody  turned  his  attention  to 
their  spiritual  welfare,  and  in  connection  with  Mr.  Haw- 
ley,  the  secretary  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associ- 
ation, obtained  admission  to  their  quarters  ;  meetings 
were  held  with  them  daily,  and  a  great  revival  of  religion 
took  place  among  these  men. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  give  the  details  of  this  truly 
Christ-like  work  throughout  the  whole  of  that  fierce  war ; 
biit  some  idea  of  the  actual  amount  performed  may  be 
gathered  from  the  committee's  report  for  1865,  which 
informs  us  that  the  following  were  distributed  :  1,537 
Bibles,  20,565  Testaments,  1,000  Prayer-books,  2,025 
Hymn-books,  127,000  religious  newspapers,  and  44,000 
tracts. 

While  all  this  was  going  on,  however,  home-work  was 
not  being  neglected ;  and  the  North  Market  Hall  having 
become  too  small,  it  was  decided  in  1863  to  erect  a  more 
commodious  house  for  worship  and  school  purposes  in 
Illinois  street,  the  cost  of  which,  ;^20,ooo,  was  collected 
by  Mr.  Moody.  The  school  had  increased  to  1,000 
scholars,  and  about  300  of  their  parents  had  been  led  to 
the  Saviour,  and  were  regular  attendants  at  the  services. 
This  was  all  a  clear  gain  for  the  cause  of  truth  and  right- 
eousness, as  nearly  all  these  people  had  been  rescued 
from  the  most  irreligious  of  the  population.  The  ques- 
tion now  occurred  as  to  the  status  of  this  congregation 


D.  L.  MOODY.  33 

in  the  religious  community.  Mr.  Moody  had  started  with 
no  intention  of  establishing  a  new  church,  but  rather  to 
draft  off  his  converts  into  those  existing  churches  in 
Chicago  that  were  most  suitable  to  their  views  and  pre- 
dilections. Difficulties,  however,  constantly  presented 
themselves,  as  most  of  these  people  having  had  no  pre- 
vious knowledge  of  religious  life,  had  no  predilections  on 
the  subject  whatever;  and  besides,  a  common  interest 
and  sympathy  bound  them  together  to  the  mission  that 
had  rescued  them  and  to  its  beloved  founder.  It  was 
therefore  decided,  with  the  concurrence  and  approval  of 
the  ministers  of  the  city,  to  constitute  it  into  a  district 
church,  with  Mr.  Moody  as  its  pastor.  The  code  of 
doctrines  drawn  out  for  its  members  to  subscribe  to  em- 
bodied all  those  Evangelical  and  Scriptural  points  of 
Divinity  which  so  prominently  figure  in  Mr.  Moody's 
public  addresses,  while  its  government  and  discipline — 
as  might  be  expected — were  of  the  most  democratic 
order.  As  a  pastor,  he  faithfully  discharged  his  duty  in 
making  the  acquaintance  of  every  member  of  his  flock, 
constantly  visiting  and  sympathizing  with  their  wants 
and  sufferings.  A  friend  gives  an  account  of  his  having 
visited  200  distinct  families  in  one  day.  Most  of  his 
flock  having  been  brought  to  God  under  direct  efforts,  a 
bond  of  love  and  unity  existed  between  pastor  and  people 
such  as  has  seldom  been  witnessed  in  the  annals  o£ 
Christendom. 

In    1865    the   Young   Men's   Christian   Association 
elected  him  as  its  president.      Its  meetings  had  hitherto 


k 


34  J0>,  L.  MOODY, 

been  conducted  in  a  building  quite  inadequate  to  the 
requirements  of  its  growing  importance,  and  he  at  once 
set  to  work  to  procure  a  new  hall  for  its  use.  This  beau- 
tiful and  commodious  edifice,  which  cost  about  100,000 
dollars,  was  named,  after  his  old  friend  and  fellow-helper, 
Farwell  Hall.  Some  idea  of  the  work  of  God  that  was 
then  being  carried  on  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that 
at  the  noonday  prayer-meeting  a  thousand  persons  were 
generally  present.  The  services  at  this  meeting  were 
lively  and  varied,  no  exercise,  whether  of  singing,  reading, 
or  praying,  being  allowed  to  occupy  more  than  three 
minutes. 

This  splendid  building  was  of  short  existence.  It 
was  completed  in  September,  1867,  and  entirely  destroyed 
by  fire  in  the  following  January.  Nothing  daunted,  how- 
ever, by  this  catastrophe,  he  set  to  work  and  raised 
funds  for  a  second  edifice,  which  was  speedily  erected  on 
the  site  of  the  first. 

After  four  years'  presidency  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  he  declined  re-election,  and  accept- 
ed the  office  of  vice,  under  his  friend  Mr.  Farwell. 

After  leaving  business,  Mr.  Moody  had  made  his 
residence  in  one  of  the  prayer-rooms  of  the  Association's 
premises,  and  a  dark  coal  cellar  under  a  staircase  was 
used  by  him  for  secret  prayer.  On  the  28th  August, 
1862,  he  became  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Emma 
Revell,  and  removed  to  a  small  cottage.  His  domestic 
life  has  been  a  happy  one,  but  his  faith  has  sometimes 
been  put  to  the  severest  tests.     One  day,  on  leaving 


D.  L.  MOODY.  35 

home  for  his  labor  of  love,  he  remarked  to  his  wife :  "  I 
have  no  money,  and  the  house  is  without  supplies.  It 
looks  as  if  the  Lord  has  had  enough  of  me  in  this  mission 
work,  and  is  going  to  send  me  back  again  to  sell  boots 
and  shoes."  In  a  day  or  two  a  stranger  sent  him  two 
checks  for  fifty  dollars  each,  one  for  himself  and  one  for 
his  school.  On  another  occasion  his  wife  informed  him 
that  they  had  no  flour  for  the  day's  use,  and  asked  him  to 
order  some  on  his  way.  Having  no  money  in  his  posses- 
sion, he  was  perplexed  how  to  proceed  to  raise  the  re- 
quired amount ;  but  meeting  a  person  in  whose  spiritual 
welfare  he  was  concerned,  he  forgot  all  about  such  sub- 
lunary considerations  as  money  and  flour,  and  went  heart 
and  soul  into  his  pastoral  work.  On  his  return  home  at 
night  he  felt  somewhat  nervous  about  his  reception,  on 
account  of  his  not  having  sent  home  the  flour,  but  to  his 
joyful  surprise  he  found  that  on  his  arrival  the  table  was 
spread  with  a  bountiful  repast.  A  friend  had  had  one  of 
those  peculiar  impressions  so  often  associated  with  pray- 
er and  faith,  and  thafmorning  had  sent  a  barrel  of  flour. 
Some  friends,  who  felt  confidence  in  this  servant  of  God 
and  were  interested  in  his  work,  unknown  to  him  select- 
a  new  house  and  furnished  it  throughout  with  every 
facility  for  convenience  and  comfort,  and  when  all  was 
completed,  invited  him  and  his  family  to  it,  and  made  him 
a  present  of  the  lease  of  the  house  and  all  its  contents. 
Thus  the  Great  Master  took  care  of  his  servant,  and  hon- 
ored his  faith  and  trust,  though  He  sometimes  tried  it. 
A  great  calamity  now  overtook  the  city  where  his 


C^-^   0?  THB 

'nirivBRsiTT: 


36  D.  L.  MOODY, 

labors  had  been  so  signally  successful.  On  the  8th 
October,  1871,  the  great  fire  of  Chicago  commenced,  and 
swept  in  its  ravages  an  area  of  four  miles  in  length  by 
one  mile  in  breadth.  Buildings  of  all  sorts  were  destroyed, 
and  among  the  rest  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion Hall,  Mr.  Moody's  church,  and  his  new  residence. 
Thousands  were  thus  rendered  destitute  and  homeless, 
many  of  them  having  barely  escaped  with  their  lives, 
having  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things.  Into  this  scene  of 
want  and  suffering  he  at  once  threw  his  whole  soul,  in 
procuring  and  distributing  food  and  clothing  to  the  per- 
ishing. Partly  to  obtain  relief  for  the  sufferers,  and  also 
to  collect  funds  for  rebuilding  his  church  and  school,  he 
started  on  a  tour  down  east,  holding  revival  services  at 
Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  &c.,  which  were  greatly  blessed 
to  the  churches  in  which  he  labored.  Encouraged  by  the 
success  of  his  appeals,  it  was  at  once  determined  to  erect 
on  the  site  of  the  former  church  an  immense  wooden 
tabernacle.  In  a  short  time,  by  the  aid  of  the  voluntary 
labors  of  many  of  his  flock,  the  new  structure  was  ready, 
and  although  all  was  ruin  and  desolation  around  it,  yet 
on  the  first  Sabbath  more  than  a  thousand  children  were 
present,  and  at  the  public  service  the  building  was 
crowded.  In  respect  to  real  revival  work,  the  glory  of 
this  latter  house  was  destined  to  excel  the  former.  Its 
meetings  were  crowded,  and  hundreds  were  brought  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  Saviour.  The  following  programme  of 
an  ordinary  Sunday's  service  will  give  some  idea  of  the 
amount  of  work  done  at  this  tabernacle : — 


D.  L.  MOODY,  37 

Nine,  o'clock. — The  Lord's  Supper. 

Half-past  Ten. — Preaching  by  Mr.  Moody. 

After  Service. — Dinner  in  the  Class-Room  with  the  Teachers,  and 
Conversation  on  the  Day's  Lessons. 

Three  o'clock. — Sunday  School,  Mr.  Moody  superintending. 

After  School. — Teachers'  Prayer  Meeting,  led  by  Mr.  Moody. 

Then  Supper,  in  the  Class-Room. 

After  Supper. — Yokefellows'  Prayer  Meeting. 

Half-past  Seven. — Preaching  Service,  by  Mr.  Moody. 

After  Service. — Inquiry  Meetings,  lasting  as  long  as  there  were 
any  inquirers  needing  counsel,  sometimes  extending  far  into  the  night. 

In  the  spring  of  1872  Mr.  Moody  paid  a  short  visit  to 
England,  principally  to  attend  the  Evangelical  Conference 
at  Mildmay  Park,  London,  and  an  impression  seems  to 
have  become  fixed  on  his  mind  that  he  should  return 
thither  on  an  evangelistic  tour,  believing  that  He  who  had 
so  signally  owned  his  labors  in  the  New  World  would 
also  make  him  a  blessing  in  the  land  of  his  forefathers. 
The  recital  of  this  wonderful  campaign  will  be  found 
narrated  in  another  chapter. 

Thus  he  who  was  the  poor,  fatherless  lad,  starting  in 
life  with  neither  education,  money,  nor  patrons;  with  a 
knowledge  of  no  other  book  than  the  Bible;  speaking  no 
language  but  that  of  his  mother-tongue,  and  that  but  im- 
perfectly ;  with  purity  of  life  and  an  implicit  faith  in  his 
Saviour;  with  but  one  object  supreme,  before  which  all 
others  were  made  to  bend — the  object  of  saving  men  from 
sin  in  death — had,  clothed  in  the  panoply  of  divine 
strength,  achieved,  though  yet  comparatively  young,  a 
success  that  will  cause  his  name  to  be  blessed  by  the 
present  and  future  generations,  and  to  be  held  in  ever- 
lasting remembrance  even  as  long  as  the  kingdom  of  the 
Redeemer  shall  exist. 


k 


1.  D.  3y\NKEY. 


'T^HE  life  and  character  of  Ira  David  Sankey  presents, 
in  many  respects,  a  striking  contrast  to  that  of  Mr. 
Moody.  He  was  born  in  1840,  at  Edinburgh,  Pennsylva- 
nia. His  parents  both  belonged  to  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church;  and  his  father  was  a  man  of  wealth  and 
position,  being  for  some  years  a  member  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania House  of  Legislation.  When  about  six  years 
of  age,  a  pious  old  Scotchman  used  to  take  him  to  the 
Sunday-school,  and  talk  to  him  about  good  things ;  the 
humble  efforts  of  this  aged  pilgrim  seem  to  have  made  a 
lasting  impression  on  his  young  mind.  At  the  age  of 
fifteen,  during  a  revival  of  religion  in  his  native  town, 
he  was  led  to  see  his  state  as  a  lost  sinner,  and  to  give 
his  heart  to  God.  This  he  appears  to  have  done 
thoroughly  and  unreservedly,  and  he  at  once  joined  the 
church  of  which  his  parents  were  members. 

About  a  year  after  this  the  family  removed  to  New- 
castle, where  his  father  took  the  management  of  a  bank, 
and  Ira  was  placed  in  a  first-class  school  to  complete  his 


I.  D.  SANKEY.  39 

education.  Here  he  joined  himself  to  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  in  Jefferson  street,  and  took  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  service  of  praise. 

When  quite  a  child,  his  aptitude  for  singing  and 
capacity  for  music  began  to  develop  in  a  marked  man- 
ner. Any  tune  that  he  had  once  heard  he  could  sing  off, 
and  his  vocal  abilities  were  called  into  requisition  at  the 
day  and  Sunday  schools. 

When  twenty  years  of  age,  he  was  appointed  to  the 
ofifice  of  superintendent  of  a  Sunday-school,  numbering 
about  350  scholars.  It  was  in  this  capacity  he  com- 
menced that  course  of  singing  the  Gospel  in  solos  that 
has  subsequently  rendered  his  name  so  famous.  The 
effect  upon  the  school  was  most  successful ;  scholars 
crowded  in  till  there  was  no  more  room,  and  many  of 
their  parents,  who  were  induced  to  come  to  hear  the 
"  sweet  singer,"  received  lasting  good. 

Shortly  afterwards  he  was  appointed  to  the  important 
office  of  class  leader,  having  in  his  class  about  seventy  of 
God's  people,  who  assembled  week  after  week  to  talk 
over  religious  experience,  and  receive  counsel  and  ad- 
vice. For  such  a  young  man  it  was  a  weighty  charge, 
but  it  led  him  to  study  the  Book  of  books — the  well- 
spring  of  truth — to  search  for  hidden  manna  wherewith 
to  feed  the  flock  of  God. 

During  the  great  Rebellion,  a  regiment  was  raised  in 
Newcastle,  at  the  call  of  President  Lincoln,  in  which  Mr. 
Sankey  enlisted  for  three  months'  service,  at  the  expira- 
tion of  which  term  he  retired  and  entered  a  department 


40  /.  D.  SANKEY, 

of  the  civil  service  under  his  father,  in  which  position 
he  remained  till  he  rehnquished  temporal  pursuits. 

His  fame  as  a  singer  of  the  Gospel  had,  in  the  mean- 
time, spread  far  and  wide,  and  calls  were  constantly 
pouring  in  from  all  directions  for  his  services ;  and  it 
became  a  question  with  him  whether  it  were  not  his 
special  mission  to  engage  entirely  in  this  somewhat 
peculiar  mode  of  Christian  work.  He  had  not  been 
taught  the  art  of  music  professionally  by  any  master,  but 
the  gift  seemed  a  special  dispensation  from  Heaven,  and 
understanding  it  in  this  light,  he  would  pray  over  his 
singing  in  secret  just  the  same  as  if  he  were  going  to 
preach  a  sermon.  It  was  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  gave  the  seal  of  his  approbation  to  his 
undertakings.  Laying  the  whole  matter  before  God,  and 
placing  himself  and  his  talent  at  His  disposal,  he  waited 
for  the  providential  call,  which  was  not  long  in  coming. 

At  a  convention  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  at  Indianapolis,  in  1871,  a  prayer-meeting 
was  appointed  for  seven  o'clock  one  morning.  The 
singing  at  first  appears  to  have  been  of  the  slowest  and 
dullest  order,  till  some  one  noticing  Mr.  Sankey  in  the 
meeting,  requested  him  to  come  forward  and  take  the 
lead.  No  sooner  had  he  done  so,  than  the  effect  upon 
the  meeting  became  strikingly  apparent.  Mr.  Moody 
was  present,  and  at  its  close  sought  an  interview,  and 
urged  him  to  relinquish  his  business  engagements  and 
cast  in  his  lot  with  him  in  his  work  at  Chicago. 

After  much  prayer  and  consultation  with  his  friends, 


/.  D.  SANKEY,  41 

he  determined  to  go  to  Chicago  for  one  week  as  a  trial. 
During  this  week  his  labors  with  Mr.  Moody  were  so 
much  blessed,  and  the  two  men  became  so  closely  drawn 
towards  each  other,  that  he  determined  at  once  to  throw 
up  business  and  give  himself  entirely  to  the  work. 

Six  months  after  occurred  the  great  fire  of  Chicago, 
and  while  Mr.  Moody  went  on  his  eastern  tour,  Mr. 
Sankey  returned  for  a  short  time  to  his  family.  On  the 
rebuilding  of  the  Tabernacle,  however,  he  threw  himself 
again  into  the  work,  and  took  a  very  active  part  in  the 
revival  that  followed.  One  day  he  was  called  to  visit  a 
dying  child  in  a  miserable  hut :  "  Are  you  a  Christian  T* 
asked  the  evangelist.  "  Yes."  "  When  did  you  become 
one?"  "Do  you  remember  last  Thursday  in  the  Taber- 
nacle, when  we  had  that  little  singing  meeting,  and  you 
sang:  'Jesus  loves  even  me'.''  It  was  last  Thursday  I 
believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus  ;  and  now  I  am  going  to  be 
with  him  to-day." 

Thus  these  two  worthy  men,  trained  in  different 
schools  of  thought  and  action,  in  many  respects  the  very 
opposite  of  each  other,  were  drawn  together  by  the  lead- 
ings of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  be  the  instruments  of  perform- 
ing the  great  achievements  that  have  since  astonished 
the  world.  Moody,  though  an  impressive  and  effective 
preacher,  could  never  sing  a  stave ;  Sankey,  one  of  the 
most  touching  and  clearly  enunciating  singers  of  the 
age,  could  never  preach  a  sermon,  but  the  two  together 
have  very  appropriately  supplied  each  other's  lack. 

At  the  time   when   Mr.  Moody  was   contemplating 


42  .  /.  D.  SANKEY. 

coming  to  Great  Britain,  Mr.  Sankey  was  corresponding 
with  Philip  Phillips  with  a  view  of  taking  a  tour  together 
on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Asking  advice  of  a  friend  as  to 
which  course  to  take,  he  received  the  very  sensible  ad- 
vice :  "  Two  workers  in  the  same  line,  especially  two  sing- 
ers, are  sure  not  to  agree.  Go  with  Moody  ;  then  you 
can  do  your  work,  and  he  can  do  his,  and  there  will  be 
no  occasion  of  conflict  between  you."  After  much  pray- 
er, therefore,  he  decided  to  accompany  Mr.  Moody. 

Mr.  Sankey's  name  will  long  be  held  in  grateful 
remembrance  for  the  selection  of  spiritual  songs  which 
bears  his  name,  most  of  which  he  has  rendered  popular 
by  his  exquisite  solo  singing.  As  a  Revival  Hymn  Book, 
taking  size  and  price  into  consideration,  it  stands  alone ; 
and  will  long  remain  in  use  to  afford  direction  to  the 
seeking  penitent,  comfort  to  the  tried  and  tempted,  and 
to  prompt  to  activity  in  the  cause  of  saving  souls. 

There  are  two  of  these  hymns  which  appear  to  be 
especial  favorites  with  Mr.  Sankpy,  each  of  which  has 
a  little  history  of  its  own,  with  which  we  will  conclude 
this  sketch. 

"TIffi  NINETY  AND  NINE." 

The  following  remarks  respecting  this  now  celebrated 
hymn  appeared  in  the  New  York  Tribujie: 

**  One  of  the  most  celebrated  of  Mr.  Sankey's  collec- 
tion of  hymns  is  the  'The  Ninety  and  Nine.'  It  was  a 
favorite  in  England,  and  is  much  admired  here.  Several 
statements  concerning  its  origin  have   been  published, 


L  D.  SANKEY.  43 

which  conflict  with  each  other,  and  no  one  of  them,  Mr. 
Sankey  said  yesterday,  is  correct.  The  true  facts  in  the 
case  are  these :  When  Mr.  Sankey  was  in  England  for 
the  first  time,  with  Mr.  Moody,  he  bought  a  copy  of  the 
Christian  Age^  a  London  rehgious  paper,  pubHshing  Mr. 
Talmage's  sermons.  In  one  corner  was  found  this 
hymn.*  He  had  never  seen  or  heard  of  it  before.  It 
pleased  him,  and  seemed  adapted  to  religious  work.  He 
cut  it  out  of  the  paper,  and  three  days  afterward,  sang  it 
at  a  meeting  in  the  Free  Assembly  Hall,  at  Edinburgh, 
having  composed  the  music  himself.  A  short  time  after 
he  received  a  letter  from  a  lady,  thanking  him  for  having 
sung  the  hymn,  and  stating  that  the  author  was  her 
sister,  Miss  Eliza  C.  Clephane,  of  Melrose,  Scotland.  She 
had  written  the  hymn  in  1868,  and  shortly  after  died. 

There  were  ninety  and  nine  that  safely  lay 

In  the  shelter  of  the  fold, 
But  one  was  out  on  the  hills  away, 

Far  off  from  the  gates  of  gold ; 
Away  on  the  mountain  ^  wild  and  bare, 
Away  from  the  tender  Shepherd's  care. 
"  Lord,  thou  hast  here  thy  ninety  and  nine ; 

Are  they  not  enough  for  thee  V 
But  the  Shepherd  made  answer  :  "  This  of  mine 

Has  wandered  away  from  me ; 
And  although  the  road  be  rough  and  steep, 
I  go  to  the  desert  to  find  my  sheep." 
But  none  of  the  ransomed  ever  knew 

How  deep  were  the  waters  crossed ; 
Nor  how  dark  w  is  the  night  that  the  Lord  passed  through 

Ere  he  found  his  sheep  that  was  lost. 

*  This  hymn  was  published  in  the  Christian  Age,  Vol.  VI.,  page  i6r, 
May  13,  1S74. 


44  /.  JD.  SANKEY. 

Out  in  the  desert  he  heard  its  cry — 
Sick,  and  helpless,  and  ready  to  die. 
"  Lord,  whence  are  those  blood-drops  all  the  way 

That  mark  out  the  mountains'  track?" 
"They  were  shed  for  one  who  had  gone  astray 

Ere  the  Shepherd  could  bring  him  back." 
"Lord,  whence  are  thy  hands  so  rent  and  torn?" 
•*  They  are  pierced  to-night  by  many  a  thorn." 
And  all  through  the  mountains,  thunder-riven, 

And  up  from  the  rocky  steep, 
There  rose  a  cry  to  the  gate  of  heaven, 

"  Rejoice  !  I  have  found  my  sheep !" 
And  the  angels  echoed  around  the  throne, 
"Rejoice,  for  the  Lord  brings  back  his  own  !" 

^' JESUS  OF  NAZARETH  PASSETH  BY." 
This  hymn  was  originally  written  as  a  description  of 
the  powerful  revival  of  religion  in  Newark,  N.  J.,  in  1864, 
when  hundreds  were  led  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  find  peace 
and  joy  in  believing  in  Jesus.  It  was  on  a  Saturday 
afternoon,  when  one  of  the  largest  churches  was  crowded 
with  children  and  adults,  that  R.  G.  Pardee,  who  has 
done  so  much  for  Sunday-schools  in  America,  made  some 
very  impressive  remarks  on  the  answer  given  to  blind 
Bartimeus,  in  Luke  18:37:  "They  told  him  that  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  passeth  by."  Miss  Campbell  was  present, 
and  shortly  after  wrote  those  words  which  have  been 
sung  by  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands,  the  world 
over. 

A  gambler  came  into  a  morning  meeting,  which 
crowded  a  Congregational  church  in  Lockport,  N.  Y , 
while  they  were  singing  that  hymn,  and  at  the  close  of 
it,  though  it  was  the  first  meeting  he  had  attended,  he 


7.  D.  SANKEY.  45 

arose,  and  with  tears  streaming  down  his  cheeks,  begged 
Christians  to  pray  for  him.  Earnest  prayer  at  once 
ascended  in  his  behalf,  and  it  was  answered. 

As  this  hymn  is  generally  printed  in  an  abridged 
form,  we  subjoin  a  complete  version  : 

What  means  this  eager,  anxious  throng, 
Pressing  our  busy  streets  along — 
These  wondrous  gatherings  day  by  day .? 
What  means  this  strange  commotion,  pray  ? 
Voices,  in  accents  hushed,  reply: 
"Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by!" 

E'en  children  feel  the  potent  spell, 
And  haste  their  new-found  joy  to  tell ; 
In  crowds  they  to  the  place  repair 
Where  Christians  daily  bow  in  prayer. 
Hosannas  mingle  with  the  cry : 
"Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by  !" 

Who  is  this  Jesus  ?    Why  should  he 
The  city  move  so  mightily  t 
A  passing  stranger — has  he  skill 
To  charm  the  multitude  at  will  ? 
Again  the  stirring  tones  reply  : 
"  Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by  !" 

Jesus  !  't  is  he  who  once  below 
Man's  pathway  trod,  'mid  pain  and  woe ; 
And  burdened  hearts,  where'er  he  came, 
Brought  out  their  sick,  and  deaf,  and  lame. 
Blind  men  rejoiced  to  hear  the  cry: 
"Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by  !" 

Again  he  comes ;  from  place  to  place 
His  holy  footprints  we  can  trace; 
He  pauses  at  our  threshold — nay, 
He  enters,  condescends  to  stay ! 
Shall  we  not  gladly  raise  the  cry : 
"Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by!" 


46  /.  D.  SANKEY, 

Ho!  all  ye  heavy  laden,  come  ! 
Here 's  pardon,  comfort,  rest,  a  home ; 
Lost  wanderers  from  a  Father's  face, 
Return,  accept  his  proffered  grace  ! 
Ye  tempted,  there 's  a  refuge  nigh— 
"Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by  1" 

But  if  you  still  this  call  refuse, 
And  dare  such  wondrous  love  abuse, 
So  will  he  sadly  from  you  turn, 
Your  bitter  prayer  in  justice  spurn: 
«'  Too  late  !  too  late  !"  will  be  the  cry, 
"Jesus  of  Nazareth  has  passed  by  /" 


THE  STOF^Y  OF  THE  QF(EAT  REVIVAL. 

'T^HE  visit  of  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  to  Great 
Britain  was  undoubtedly  a  work  of  faith.  Up  to 
the  very  day  appointed  for  leaving  Chicago,  Mn  Moody 
had  not  the  money  to  pay  the  passage  to  England,  yet 
he  had  arranged  that  day  for  starting,  and  had  bidden 
adieu  to  his  church.  A  few  hours  before  the  time  the 
train  was  to  leave,  a  friend,  who  knew  nothing  of  the  po- 
sition of  affairs,  but  thinking  a  little  cash  might  be  useful 
after  they  arrived  in  England,  went  to  say  good-by,  and 
placed  five  hundred  dollars  in  Mr.  Moody's  hand.  Before 
starting  they  had  mutually  agreed  to  take  no  salary  of 
any  individual,  committee,  or  society  for  their  work  ;  to 
make  no  collections ;  to  engage  in  no  business  pursuits 
or  speculations  ;  but  to  go  forth  in  the  name  of  God,  rely- 
ing solely  on  him. 

They  sailed  from  New  York  on  the  7th  of  June,  1873, 
and  arrived  at  Liverpool  on  the  1 7th.  No  one,  however, 
required  their  service  then  in  that  town ;  and  on  their 
arrival  they  ascertained  that  Rev.  W,  Pennefather  of 
London,  and  Mr.  Bainbridge  of  Newcastle,  who  had  both 
taken  a  leading  part  in  inviting  them  over,  were  dead. 


48  THE  GREAT  REVIVAL. 

Having  also  had  an  invitation  from  the  Secretary  of  the 
Christian  Young  Men's  Association  at  York,  they  at  once 
proceeded  to  that  city.  Their  commencement  was  by  • 
no  means  encouraging;  at  their  first  meeting  only  eight 
persons  were  present.  No  one  seemed  to  understand 
revivalistic  work  in  that  steady-going  old  cathedral  city. 
After  a  week  or  two,  however,  Mr.  Moody's  mode  of 
expounding  the  Bible  began  to  attract  attention,  and 
though  the  clergy  of  all  denominations  gave  them  the 
cold  shoulder,  the  people  soon  began  to  flock  to  their 
meetings,  and  during  their  month's  stay  in  York  about 
250  souls  professed  to  find  the  Lord. 

On  the  27th  July  they  opened  their  commission  at 
Bethesda  Baptist  Chapel,  Sunderland.  Here,  as  at  York, 
the  clergy  again  stood  aloof,  and  some  of  them  went 
farther,  and  attempted  to  thwart  the  movement  by 
opposition  pamphlets.  The  meetings,  however,  were 
well  attended,  and  many  souls  were  brought  to  the 
Saviour. 

The  next  move  was  to  Newcastle,  where  the  work 
began  in  good  earnest,  the  evangelists  making  their 
headquarters  at  Rye  Hill  Chapel,  a  large  edifice,  which 
soon  became  crowded  to  overflowing.  Here  the  minis- 
ters of  the  town,  including  several  of  the  Established 
Church,  not  only  countenanced,  but  many  of  them  took 
an  active  part  in  the  work.  The  awakening  at  last 
became  so  general,  that  for  miles  around  requests  were 
sent  for  Christian  men  to  go  to  the  surrounding  towns 
and  villages,  to  hold  revivalist  services.     Meetings  were 


THE  GREAT  REVIVAL.  49 

held  for  merchants  in  the  Assembly  Hall,  and  in  the 
Tyne  Theatre  for  mechanics  ;  but  even  these  commodious 
buildings  generally  failed  to  hold  half  the  people  who 
sought  admission,  and  a  thousand  people  assembled 
daily  at  the  noon  prayer-meetings. 

After  short  visits  to  Carlisle,  Darlington,  &c.,  they 
arrived  in  Edinburgh,  on  Saturday,  November  21st. 
Here  they  found  the  ground  prepared  for  them.  A  pray- 
er-meeting had  been  established  some  time  before  their 
arrival,  to  supplicate  the  Divine  blessing  on  their  labors, 
and  many  of  the  Lord's  Israel  were  waiting  for  and  ex- 
pecting the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  largest 
halls  and  churches  in  the  city  were  placed  at  their  dis- 
posal, but  these  were  all  found  too  small  for  the  people 
who  flocked  to  hear  the  now  popular  strangers.  During 
their  stay  in  the  Scottish  capital,  an  immense  number 
professed  to  find  the  Lord,  among  them  a  chairman  of  an 
infidel  club,  who  has  since  become  a  successful  evangelist. 
Seventeen  other  members  of  this  same  infidel  club  were 
also  converted.  As  a  result  of  this  revival  work  in 
Edinburgh,  3,000  persons  were  received  into  the  various 
churches  of  that  city,  besides  a  large  number  already  in 
church-fellowship  who  received  the  quickening  influences 
of  the  Spirit. 

On  the  2 1  St  January,  1874,  they  began  laboring  in 
Dundee  with  great  success  ;  upwards  of  400  persons  appli- 
ed for  converts'  tickets  for  a  meeting  appointed  for  their 
benefit,  who  all  professed  to  have  received  pardon  through 
believing  in  Jesus,  in  connection  with  these  services. 

5 


50  THE  GREAT  REVIVAL. 

Glasgow  was  reached  on  February  8th.  For  a  month 
previous  special  prayer  had  been  made  for  the  blessing 
of  God  upon  their  labors,  and  now  ministers  of  all  de- 
nominations were  seen  happily  blending  their  influence 
and  services  for  spreading  the  mighty  work,  which  rolled 
on  with  increasing  and  irresistible  force,  drawing  men 
and  women  of  all  grades  of  society  within  its  blessed  in- 
fluence. Signal  good  was  done  among  the  dock-laborers, 
for  whom  special  services  were  held  during  the  dinner 
hour.  Night  after  night  the  large  City  Hall  was  crowd- 
ed, and  ultimately  the  Ribble  Palace,  in  the  Botanical 
Gardens,  was  secured,  which,  though  capable  of  seating 
6,000,  was  found  too  small  for  the  crowds  of  anxious 
listeners.  Among  the  converts  during  their  stay  there 
was  a  Glasgow  merchant,  who  has  since  devoted  himself 
to  the  evangelistic  work,  and,  through  his  instrumentality, 
160  souls  have  been  added  to  the  church  in  a  small  place 
near  the  city.  On  one  evening  a  meeting  was  specially 
held  for  young  converts,  and  over  3,000  of  this  class 
assembled,  professing  to  have  found  the  Lord  during  the 
revival  services.  On  their  last  Sabbath  evening  in  Glas- 
gow, the  number  in  and  around  the  palace  was  estimated 
at  50,000.  Mr.  Moody,  therefore,  decided  to  preach  from 
the  carriage,  which  was  done  with  such  marvellous  effect, 
that  at  its  conclusion  the  great  palace  was  converted  into 
an  inquiry-room.  The  meeting  was  kept  up  till  near 
eleven  o'clock,  and  many  souls  were  set  at  liberty  through 
believing  in  Christ. 

From   Glasgow  short  visits  were  made  to  Paisley, 


THE  GREAT  REVIVAL.  51 

Greenock,  and  Gouroch,  which  were  also  attended  with 
blessed  results,  and  about  the  middle  of  May  a  flying 
visit  of  three  days  was  paid  to  Edinburgh. 

After  a  second,  but  short  stay  at  Dundee,  the  evan- 
gelists commenced  their  mission  at  Aberdeen,  June  14th. 
No  building  in  the  Granite  city  was  found  at  all  adequate 
for  the  occasion,  but  being  fine  summer  weather  it  was 
found  desirable  to  hold  the  meetings  in  the  open  air,  the 
usual  attendance  being  from  12,000  to  20,000. 

During  the  first  week  in  July  Inverness  was  reached, 
where  a  profound  impression  was  made  upon  the  High- 
landers, and  many  were  converted.  After  visiting  a  few 
other  places  in  the  extreme  north  of  Scotland  they 
directed  their  course  for  Ireland. 

On  Sunday,  September  6th,  Moody  and  Sankey  held 
their  first  meeting  in  Belfast,  at  Donegal-Square  Chapel, 
at  8  A.  M.  Each  service  held  on  this  day  was  crowded  to 
overflowing.  A  noon  prayer-meeting  was  started  as 
usual,  and  though  the  hall  was  capable  of  holding  1,400 
persons,  it  was  crowded  day  by  day.  In  order  to  reach 
the  greatest  number,  separate  services  were  held  for  men 
and  women ;  and  on  Sundays  it  was  found  necessary  to 
hold  the  meetings  out  of  doors.  On  September  27th, 
the  morning  service  was  attended  with  such  an  over- 
whelming sense  of  the  Divine  Presence  and  such  a  spirit- 
ual baptism,  that  the  whole  of  the  rest  of  the  day  was 
devoted  to  an  inquiry  meeting,  which  lasted  from  two 
till  ten  p.  M.  On  another  occasion,  200  young  men  gave 
themselves  to  Christ  at  one  meeting.     On  October  8th, 


52  THE  GREAT  REVIVAL. 

a  great  open-air  meeting  was  held,  at  which  many  thou- 
sands were  present.  On  the  nth,  they  visited  London- 
derry, where  meetings  were  held  with  great  success  for 
four  days,  and  they  then  returned  to  conduct  farewell 
;  services  in  Belfast. 

On  the  24th  October,  they  commenced  in  Dublin,  the 
Exhibition  Palace  having  been  engaged  for  the  purpose. 
The  first  who  professed  conversion  in  connection  with 
the  work  in  Dublin,  was  a  young  man  who  had  been 
brought  up  in  the  Romish  church,  and  so  many  of  that 
persuasion  attended  the  services  that  Cardinal  Cullen 
was  induced  to  interdict  his  ** lambs"  from  hearing  the 
men  who  were  turning  the  world  upside  down.  Mr. 
Moody's  unsectarian  method  of  preaching  the  word  and 
explaining  the  simple  story  of  the  cross,  however,  still 
continued  to  attract  large  numbers  of  Papists,  many  of 
whom  were  converted  to  the  truth.  Special  meetings 
were  held  for  the  soldiers  of  the  Curragh  Camp,  who 
highly  appreciated  Mr.  Moody's  homely  style  of  oratory ; 
also  for  children,  who  came  by  thousands  from  the  sur- 
rounding towns.  A  band  of  atheists  tried  to  interfere 
with  the  good  being  done,  spreading  themselves  about 
the  hall  during  service,  and  afterwards  trying  to  turn  the 
inquiry  meetings  into  debating  scenes,  but  their  schemes 
were  frustrated  by  the  prudence  and  firmness  of  the 
managers.  It  being  announced  that  y£i,5cx)  would  be 
required  for  the  necessary  expenses  in  connection  with 
the  revival  work  in  Dublin,  subscriptions  were,  without 
solicitation,  sent  in  to  the  committee  from  all  classes, 


THE  GREAT  REVIVAL.  53 

which  speedily  covered  that  amount.  The  labors  of 
Moody  and  Sankey  in  Dublin  were  continued  till  the  end 
of  November,  and  closed  with  a  three  days'  convention, 
which  was  attended  by  about  800  ministers  of  various 
denominations,  besides  multitudes  of  Christian  workers* 
from  all  parts  of  Ireland.  The  second  day  was  devoted 
for  the  benefit  and  edification  of  new  converts,  and 
about  200  persons  attended,  who  professed  to  have  given 
their  hearts  to  Christ  during  the  services. 

Manchester  became  the  next  arena  of  labor,  the 
meetings  there  commencing  December  2.  The  large 
Free  Trade  Hall  was  secured  for  the  noon  meetings,  and 
was  attended  daily  by  between  two  and  three  thousand. 
Meetings  for  Christian  workers  were  also  held  in  this 
hall  on  Sunday  morning,  at  eight,  which  were  well  at- 
tended, and  resulted  in  an  awakening  among  believers. 
Manchester  was  parcelled  out  into  districts,  and  every 
house  visited.  One  remarkable  feature  of  this  work  was 
an  awakening  of  religious  life  among  the  girls  employed 
in  the  cotton-mills,  many  of  whom  were  brought  to 
Christ.  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  being 
in  great  want  of  a  suitable  building  in  which  to  conduct 
their  operations,  Mr.  Moody  made  an  appeal  on  its  be- 
half at  a  meeting,  and  at  its  close  a  collection  was  taken, 
which  was  afterwards  made  up  to  the  amount  required, 
;^30,ooo.  This  brought  new  life  and  activity  into  the 
association,  and  about  $00  names  were  added  to  its  mem- 
bership. 

After  a   month  of  successful  labors  in  Manchester, 
5* 


54  THE  GREAT  RE  VIVAL. 

Moody  and  Sankey  commenced,  at  nine  o'clock  on  the 
night  of  December  31,  in  Sheffield.  The  watch-night 
service  was  held  in  the  Albert  Hall,  which  was  crowded 
to  excess  ;  and,  with  thanksgiving  to  the  Great  Head  of 
the  church,  this  remarkable  year  of  spiritual  success  was 
closed.  It  was  proposed  to  divide  Sheffield  into  visiting 
districts,  as  in  Manchester,  but  on  account  of  the  oppo- 
sition of  some  of  the  parochial  clergy  this  idea  was  aban- 
doned. 

Two  weeks  were  spent  successfully  at  Sheffield,  and 
then  the  evangelists  proceeded  to  Birmingham,  and 
commenced  at  the  Town  Hall,  January  17,  1875.  This 
magnificent  hall  capable  of  seating  5,000,  was  crowded  to 
excess  morning  and  afternoon,  and  another  meeting  was 
held  in  the  evening  at  Bingley  Hall.  This  building  has 
accommodation  for  ten  or  twelve  thousand,  but  so  great 
was  the  desire  to  hear  the  celebrated  Americans,  that  it 
was  computed  that  twice  that  number  had  to  go  away 
after  the  hall  was  filled.  The  interest  was  sustained 
during  the  whole  of  the  two  weeks,  and  the  services  were 
brought  to  a  close  by  a  convention,  attended  by  minis- 
ters and  evangelists  from  all  parts  of  the  United  King- 
dom. At  a  meeting  for  converts  held  before  they  left, 
2,000  applied  for  tickets  of  admission,  giving  their  names 
and  addresses,  1,400  of  whom  professed  to  have  found 
the  Lord  during  the  preceding  fortnight. 

After  a  week's  rest  they  next  proceeded  to  Liverpool, 
which  was  now  ready  and  waiting  to  receive  them.  A 
special  structure  had  been  erected,  dignified  by  the  name 


THE  GREAT  REVIVAL.  55 

of  Victoria  Hall,  with  accommodation  for  lo.cxx).  Large 
as  it  was.,  however,  eighteen  services  were  held  per  week 
in  this  hall,  and  the  noon  prayer-meeting  was  generally 
attended  by  about  6,000.  The  hall  being  inadequate  to 
meet  the  requirements,  a  large  building  in  the  vicinity, 
formerly  used  as  a  circus,  was  fitted  up  for  the  overflow 
meetings.  Special  services  were  held  for  sailors,  ship- 
builders, etc.,  with  marked  success. 

Preparations  had  in  the  meantime,  been  made  on  an 
extensive  scale  for  Moody  and  Sankey's  visit  to  London. 
A  committee  of  management  had  been  formed,  and 
included  many  men  of  wealth  and  position  in  the  com- 
mercial and  religious  world,  and  it  was  arranged  that  they 
should  spend  four  months  in  the  metropolis.  Prayer- 
meetings  had  been  commenced  in  October,  1874,  at 
Moorgate  Street  Hall,  which  were  creditably  sustained. 
A  preparatory  meeting  of  ministers  having  been  held  at 
Freemason's  Hall,  the  evangelists  held  their  first  public 
services,  March  9,  1875,  ^^  the  Agricultural  Hall,  Isling- 
ton. This  immense  room  was  fitted  up  to  seat  about 
14,000,  the  adjoining  St.  Mary's  Hall  being  used  for 
overflow  meetings  ;  and  one  of  the  large  galleries  of  the 
great  hall  was  partitioned  off  for  an  inquiry-room.  For 
five  weeks  Mr.  Moody  conducted  two  services  every  day 
except  Saturday.  Exeter  Hall,  in  addition,  was  retained 
for  noon  prayer-meetings,  which  were  afterwards  held  in 
the  Opera-House,  and  finally  in  the  Victoria  Theatre, 
Lambeth. 

After  five  weeks'  continuous  labor  at  the  Agricultural 


56  THE  GREAT  REVIVAL. 

Hall,  Moody  and  Sankey  removed  to  a  spacious  wooden 
structure,  specially  erected  for  the  purpose,  in  Burdett- 
road,  Bow,  in  the  extreme  east  of  London,  which  though 
seating  10,000,  was  far  from  adequate  to  meet  the  re- 
quirements of  those  who  sought  admission,  and  a  large 
tent  was  erected  close  by  for  the  accommodation  of  those 
who  failed  to  gain  admittance  to  the  hall,  in  which 
services  were  conducted  by  Mr.  Cole,  of  Chicago,  and 
others.  One  day  a  notorious  dog-fighter  was  brought  to 
Christ,  who  afterwards  related  his  experience  in  the 
Opera-House,  at  a  noon  meeting,  with  thrilling  effect. 

Her  Majesty's  Opera-House,  Haymarket,  after  some 
litigation,  had  been  secured  for  the  West-end  services, 
and  for  several  weeks  Moody  and  Sankey  divided  their 
time  between  this  and  the  Eastern  Hall,  the  fastest  con- 
veyances being  engaged  to  drive  them  from  one  to  the 
other,  a  distance  of  about  five  miles.  During  the  meet- 
ings at  the  Opera-House  many  of  the  nobility  and  gentry 
attended,  and  some  members  of  the  Royal  Family  paid 
occasional  visits. 

To  accommodate  the  south  of  London,  another  im- 
mense wooden  structure  was  erected  near  Camberwell- 
Green,  with  sitting  room  for  8,000.  Here,  as  in  other 
places,  the  numbers  outside  were  about  as  many  as  those 
who  succeeded  in  gaining  admission,  and  meetings  were 
held  in  the  adjoining  street  and  neighboring  chapels. 
Among  the  converts  w^ere  several  Jews,  Roman-catholics, 
and  infidels. 

Thus  the  great  work  progressed,  increasing  in  inter- 


THE  GREAT  REVIVAL. 


57 


est  rather  than  diminishing,  till  the  last  public  service 
was  held  at  the  Camberwell  Hall,  July  ii,  1875. 

On  Monday,  July  12,  a  thanksgiving  and  farewell 
meeting  was  held  at  the  Mildmay  Park  Conference  Hall, 
where  a  large  number  of  ministers  and  Christian  work- 
ers assembled  to  bid  adieu  to  the  Americans.  At  this 
meeting,  Dr.  A.  Bonar  stated  that  in  Glasgow  alone 
7,000  had  been  added  to  the  various  churches  during 
the  year.  With  deep  emotion  they  bade  farewell  to  the 
assembly,  and  in  a  few  days  were  on  the  ocean,  home- 
ward bound. 

Having  thus  briefly  sketched  the  history  of  this  re- 
markable religious  movement,  the  inquiry  naturally  arises 
as  to  what  cause  or  causes  it  is  to  be  attributed.  Many 
theories  have  been  propounded  to  solve  this  problem ; 
but  to  most  people  of  unprejudiced  thought,  and  especially 
to  the  enlightened  Christian,  there  will  appear  prominent 
and  unmistakable  marks  of  a  Supreme  power  guiding 
and  influencing  the  whole.  While  we  would  not  wish 
for  one  moment  to  depreciate  the  two  honored  men 
who  have  conducted  this  wonderful  revival,  it  must  be 
conceded,  and  no  one  would  admit  it  sooner  than  Mr. 
Moody  himself,  that  more  eloquent,  deep  thinking,  close 
reasoning  preaching  was  delivered  from  thousands  of 
pulpits  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  before  our  friends 
arrived ;  and  hymns,  bearing  the  mark  of  heavenly  in- 
spiration, full  of  gospel  truth  and  heart  experience,  were 
sung  to  lively,  soul-stirring  melodies.  In  the  face  of  all 
this,  however,  we  see  a  plain,  earnest  speaker,  whose 


S8  THE  GREAT  REVIVAL. 

discourses  some  technical  critics  would  have  pronounced 
to  be  no  sermons  at  all — with  a  diction,  the  correctness 
of  which  was  at  times  very  questionable — coming  to  our 
shores  with  no  organized  committee  at  his  back — com- 
mencing with  a  congregation  of  eight,  but  gradually- 
advancing  in  power  and  influence — taking  the  largest 
cities  of  the  empire  as  by  storm,  till  the  metropolis  of 
the  world  is  fairly  shaken,  and  all  classes  of  society,  from 
royalty  to  pauperism,  are  drawn  under  his  influence. 
Blind,  indeed,  must  that  man  be,  who  fails  to  discern  in 
all  this  the  mighty  power  of  that  same  Holy  Spirit  who 
rested  on  the  apostles  on  that  memorable  day  when  three 
thousand  cried,  under  the  preaching  of  Peter,  "  Men  and 
brethren,  what  shall  we  do  ?" 

As,  however,  it  has  pleased  the  Great  Head  of  the 
church  to  use  human  agency  in  the  work  of  bringing 
about  the  world's  grand  jubilee,  it  becomes  an  interest- 
ing and  instructive  task  to  inquire  in  what  particular 
respects  successful  men  have  excelled,  and  what  has, 
under  God,  most  contributed  to  their  success,  so  that,  as 
far  as  lieth  in  them,  others  may  go  and  do  likewise. 

The  chief  characteristics  of  Mr.  Moody's  preaching 
will  be  found  to  be : 

1.  ScRiPTURALNESS.  The  Bible  is  his  one  book,  and 
he  crowds  as  much  of  it  into  one  discourse  as  he  possibly 
can ;  not  with  a  view  to  critical  disputation,  but  to  bring 
home  to  the  heart  its  divine  truths. 

2.  Naturalness.  No  artificial  rhetoric  or  fantastic 
pronunciation  jars  upon  the  senses  of  the  audience.    He 


THE  GREAT  REVIVAL.  59 

is  not  fettered  by  the  ordinary  routine  of  exordium,  ex- 
position, and  application.  His  applications  are  inter- 
woven throughout  the  entire  discourse,  and  instead  of 
reserving  to  the  end  the  magnificent  peroration,  and 
winding  up  with  an  astonishing,  and  bewildering  burst 
of  harmless  fireworks,  he  cannonades  all  along  the  line. 

3.  Earnestness.  Mr.  Moody  means  what  he  says, 
and  says  it  as  if  it  was  worth  saying.  To  him,  in  the 
thousands  who  listen,  he  sees  a  congregation  of  immortal 
souls  who  have  to  exist  for  ever  in  heaven  or  hell ;  he 
has  the  means  of  escape  to  offer  them ;  and  this  thought 
eats  into  his  very  soul.  To  win  a  sinner  to  the  truth  is, 
to  him,  in  all  its  awful  reality,  to  save  a  soul  from  death. 

4.  But  the  crowning  characteristic  of  Mr.  Moody's 
discourses  is  the  preaching  of  Christ  crucified.  This 
is  the  golden  theme — the  scarlet  thread  that  runs  through 
all  the  volume  of  inspiration.  To  him  Old  Testament 
worthies  are  only  interesting  as  far  as  their  lives  shadow 
forth  the  Atonement.  Abraham,  Moses,  Daniel,  and 
others,  are  in  his  eyes  only  living  realities  in  the  capacity 
of  types  of  the  one  central  figure  in  his  theology — the 
God-man,  Jesus.  He  knows  of  no  compromise  with 
unitarianism,  rationalism,  or  anything  that  would  seek 
to  explain  away  the  vicarious  redemption  of  Christ.  To 
him  the  Atoning  Blood  is  the  only  cure  for  the  maladies 
of  the  human  soul — the  only  salvation  from  sin  and 
hell. 

Mr.  Moody  has  the  happy  art  of  bringing  home  to 
his  hearers  the  subjects  he  discourses  upon  by  the  aid  of 


k 


f!Jiri7BRSIT7j 


6o 


THE  GREAT  REVIVAL, 


interesting  and  appropriate  illustrations  and  metaphors. 
As  many  of  these  may  serve  to  assist  other  evangelists, 
exhorters,  Sunday-school  teachers,  and  other  workers  in 
the  good  cause,  as  well  as  to  tend  to  bring  to  remem- 
brance those  times  of  refreshing  under  which  so  many 
souls  were  stirred  up  to  a  holier  life,  we  now  proceed  to 
give  a  classified  selection. 


ANECDOTES  BY  JA^.  D.  L.  MOODY. 


CASES  OF  CONVERSION. 
/^^ONVERSION,  as  understood  in  orthodox  divinity, 
is  that  change  referred  to  by  Christ  in  his  conversa- 
tion with  Nicodemus:  "  Ye  must  be  born  againy  It  is 
not  a  change  of  opinion,  a  reformation  of  morals,  or  a 
religious  profession,  though  all  these  are  accessories. 
It  is  preceded  by  Repentance,  and  consists  of :  i.  Justi- 
fication by  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  2.  Regener- 
ation, or  a  change  of  heart,  ratified  by  the  witness  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  the  soul  of  the  believer,  producing  peace 
and  joy  in  the  Lord. 

We  shall  give  some  instances  of  conversions  as  rela- 
ted by  Mr.  Moody  in  his  discourses. 


TOUCHING  ACCOUNT  OF  A   YOUNG  LADY'S  CON- 
VERSION 

TN  the  course  of  my  address  one  Friday  evening  at  Dr. 
Buchanan's  Church  in  Glasgow,  on  the  gospel  invita- 
tion to  the  Marriage  Supper  of  the  Lamb,  the  thought 
occurred  to  me  that  I  might  never  meet  that  audience 

6 


62  ANECDOTES. 

again,  and  I  preached  with  all  my  soul,  urging  them  to 
accept  the  invitation  before  it  was  too  late.  Among 
those  who  went  into  the  inquiry-room  was  a  young  lady, 
who  appeared  very  anxious  about  her  soul.  After  talk- 
ing and  praying  with  her  for  a  short  time,  light  broke  in 
upon  her,  and  she  found  peace  with  God.  The  first 
thing  she  did  when  she  got  home  was  to  tell  her  mother 
that  she  had  that  night  accepted  the  invitation  to  the 
Marriage  Supper  of  the  Lamb.  When  the  father  came 
in,  the  mother  told  him  the  joyful  tidings,  and  they  both 
rejoiced  over  her  and  wept  tears  of  joy.  The  next  morn- 
ing, Saturday,  their  daughter  was  too  ill  to  get  up,  and 
the  following  day  she  lay  unconscious  with  the  scarlet 
fever.  On  the  Monday  morning  I  received  a  letter,  ask- 
ing me  to  pray  for  her,  and  subsequently  I  received  the 
following:  "Mr.  Moody,  Dear  Sir:  It  is  now  my  painful 
duty  to  intimate  to  you  that  the  poor  girl  about  whom  I 
wrote  to  you  on  Monday,  has  been  taken  away  from  us 
by  death.  Her  departure,  however,  has  been  singularly 
softened  to  us,  for  she  told  us  yesterday,  she  was  going 
home  to  be  with  Jesus,  and  after  many  messages,  she 
told  us  to  let  Mr.  Moody  and  Mr.  Sankey  know  that  she 
died  a  happy  Christian."  "  When  I  read  that,"  said  Mr. 
Moody,  "  I  said  to  Mr.  Sankey,  *  That  pays  us  for  cross- 
ing the  Atlantic'  "  The  letter  went  on :  "  My  dear  sir, 
let  us  have  your  prayers,  that  God's  strength  may  be 
continued  to  us,  and  that  our  two  remaining  little  ones 
may  be  kept  in  health,  if  it  is  our  Father's  will.  I  re- 
peated to  her,  before  she  died,  the  lines : 


ANECDOTES.  (>i 

"  '  In  the  Christian's  home  of  glory, 
There  remains  a  land  of  rest ;' 

and  she  took  up  and  tried  to  sing  the  two  remaining 
lines: 

"  *  Where  the  Saviour 's  gone  before  me, 
To  fulfil  my  soul's  request' 

These  are  among  the  last  conscious  things  she  said.  T 
should  further  say,  my  dear  girl  also  expressed  a  wish 
that  the  lady  who  conversed  with  her  on  Friday  evening 
should  also  know  she  died  a  happy  Christian.  With 
feelings  of  deep  sympathy  with  you  in  your  blessed  work, 
I  remain,  yours  very  truly,  William  Hamilton."  Was  it 
not  a  good  thing,  added  Mr.  Moody,  that  she  accepted 
the  invitation  that  night  ?  Prepare  to  meet  your  God, 
While  reading  this  letter  Mr.  Moody  was  nearly  over- 
come with  emotion,  and  many  of  his  listeners  were  in 
tears. 


I 


A  LADY'S  CONVERSION  AND  DEATH. 

RECEIVED  a  letter  the  other  day  from  England  that 
cheered  me,  although  it  brought  the  sad  news  of 
death.  I  was  preaching  one  night  in  the  town  of  New- 
castle, and  I  was  urging  with  all  my  power  sinners  to 
seek  the  kingdom  of  God.  I  went  down  to  a  lady  that 
I  noticed  in  the  church,  and  I  asked  her  if  she  did  n't 
want  to  step  into  the  inquiry-room.  "  No,  sir,"  she  said. 
I  said  :  "  Would  n't  you  like  to  be  a  Christian  T  "  No, 
sir,  I  have  no  desire  to  be  one."  I  said :  "  I  am  very 
sorry  for  you."     The  next  night  she  was  there  again  ; 


64  ANECDOTES. 

and  the  next  night  I  did  n't  see  anything  of  her.  A  week 
from  the  first  night — just  one  week  from  that  night — I 
was  laboring  with  all  my  soul  to  have  them  press  into 
the  kingdom  of  God,  and  she  was  there.  I  went  to  her 
that  night,  and  I  said  to  her :  "  Madam,  are  you  of  the 
same  mind  you  were  a  few  nights  ago  ?"  And  the  tears 
trickled  down  over  her  cheeks,  and  she  said  :  "  No,  Mr. 
Moody,  I  want  to  be  saved  now."  She  went  into  the 
inquiry-room,  and  said  she  had  come  there  with  the  fixed 
determination  to  seek  the  kingdom  of  God  with  all  her 
heart ;  and  she  found  it.  This  is  the  letter  I  have  got : 
"  My  wife  passed  peacefully  away  to  her  rest  the  after- 
noon of  the  19th  inst.,  after  three  days'  illness.  Her  love 
for  the  Master  and  his  cause  increased  toward  the  last. 
It  has  left  a  terrible  blank  in  my  home ;  but  the  knowl- 
edge that  she  is  with  Jesus,  whom  she  loved  to  sing 
about,  wonderfully  softens  the  loss.  Heaven  will  be 
dearer  to  me  than  ever  before.  She  is  there  now.  To 
me  your  remembrance  will  ever  be  dear,  as  being  the 
means,  in  God's  hands,  of  leading  her  to  himself."  As  I 
read  this  note,  I  thanked  God  I  went  to  England.  I 
thanked  God  for  the  privilege  I  had  of  leading  that  lady 
into  his  kingdom. 

CONVERSION  AND  FORGIVENESS. 

T  WAS  speaking  to  a  young  lady  in  the  inquiry-room 

some  time  ago,  and  she  was  in  great  distress  of  mind. 

She  seemed  really  anxious  to  be  saved,  and  I  could  not 

find  out  what  was  the  trouble  between  God  and  her.     I 


ANECDOTES,  65 

saw  there  was  something  that  was  keeping  her  back.  I 
quoted  promise  after  promise,  but  she  did  n't  seem  to 
lay  hold  on  any  of  them.  Then  we  got  down  on  our 
knees  and  prayed,  but  still  there  was  no  light.  Finally 
I  said :  "  Is  there  any  one  against  whom  you  have  bitter 
feelings  T  "  Yes  ;  there 's  a  young  lady  on  the  other  side 
of  the  room,  talking  to  your  wife,  whom  I  can't  forgive." 
"  Ah,  I  've  got  it  now  ;  that 's  why  the  blessing  wont 
come  to  you."  "  Do  you  mean  to  tell  me,"  said  the 
young  lady,  looking  up  in  my  face,  "  that  I  can't  be 
saved  until  I  forgive  her  .'*"  "  No,  you  can't ;  and,  if 
there  are  any  others  whom  you  hate,  you  must  forgive 
them  also."  She  paused  a  moment,  and  then  she  said : 
"  I  will  go."  It  seems  that  my  wife  and  the  other  young 
lady  had  been  going  over  the  same  ground,  and  just  at 
that  time  the  other  young  lady  had  resolved  to^ome  to 
ask  this  one's  forgiveness.  So  there  they  met  in  the 
middle  of  the  room,  both  saying  at  once :  **  Will  you 
forgive  me  .^"  Oh,  what  a  meeting  it  was  !  They  knelt 
together,  and  joy  beamed  on  their  souls,  and  their  diffi- 
culties vanished.  In  a  little  while  they  went  out  of  the 
room  with  their  arms  around  each  other,  and  their  faces 
lit  up  with  a  heavenly  glow. 


A  MOTHER'S  LETTER. 

n^HE  other  night  I  was  talking  in  the  inquiry-room  to 

a  noble-looking  young  man,  who  was  in  great  agony 

of  soul.     I  asked  him  what  had  made  him  anxious  ;   was 

it  the  address  }   or  any  of  the  hymns }     He  looked  up  in 

6* 


66  ANECDOTES. 

my  face,  and  said :  "  It  was  my  mother  s  letter."  She 
had  written  him,  asking  him  to  attend  that  meeting,  and 
had  said  she  would  be  praying  for  him  when  he  was  at 
the  meeting.  .  The  thought  of  his  mother's  prayers  and 
agony  had  gone  home  to  his  heart ;   and  that  night  he 

found  the  Saviour. 

. — « 

A  SISTER'S  LETTER. 
T  REMEMBER  when  I  was  at  Nashville,  toward  the 
close  of  the  American  war,  we  were  holding  a  soldiers' 
prayer-meeting,  and  at  the  end  of  the  meeting  a  young 
officer  came  forward,  and  showed  me  a  letter  he  had 
received  from  his  sister,  in  which  she  pleaded  with  him 
about  his  soul,  and  told  him  that  every  night  when  the 
sun  went  down,  she  was  on  her  knees  before  God  pray- 
ing for  him.  "  Mr.  Moody,"  he  said,  "  I  have  faced  death 
in  many  ways,  and  I  have  walked  up  to  the  cannon's 
mouth,  but  I  can't  stand  the  thought  of  my  sister's 
l^rayer.  It  has  broken  my  heart."  We  knelt  down 
together,  but  he  burst  out  into  prayer.  "O  God,  hear 
my  sister's  prayer  this  night,  and  save  my  soul."  He 
found  Jesus  that  night ;  and  I  believe  it  was  the  prayer 
of  his  sister,  six  hundred  miles  away,  that  did  it. 


A  MOTHER'S  LAST  MESSAGE. 
nrHE  very  day  after  the  prayer-meeting  at  Nashville, 
I  was  away  at  another  soldiers'  prayer-meeting  thir- 
ty miles  off.     When  I  was  talking,  I  told  the  story  of 


ANECDOTES.  67 

the  soldier  who  on  the  previous  night  had  received  a  letter 
from  his  sister.  When  I  had  done,  a  young  lieutenant 
got  up  and  said:  **What  Mr.  Moody  has  just  told  us, 
reminds  me  of  the  last  letter  I  received  from  my  mother, 
before  she  was  taken  home,  in  which  she  said  :  *  This 
may  be  the  last  letter  you  may  ever  receive  from  me ; 
even  ere  you  read  this,  I  may  be  taken  away  from  the 
earth.  Oh,  my  dear  son,  don't  delay  seeking  the  salva- 
tion of  your  soul.  Remember  that,  morning,  noon,  and 
night,  I  shall  be  praying  for  you.  Wont  you  yield  your- 
self to  Christ  T  "  The  tears  trickled  over  the  officer's 
cheeks  as  he  said  :  "  Little  did  my  mother  think  that 
would  be  her  last  letter.  A  few  days  after  this,  I  re- 
ceived the  news  that  she  was  gone.  But  I  was  deter- 
mined to  seek  the  Lord,  and  did  not  rest  until  my  moth- 
er's God  was  also  mine ;  and  now  I  am  on  my  way  to 
heaven  to  meet  her  there." 


WHO  'LL  RECEIVE  HIMf 

TN  Dublin  I  was  speaking  to  a  lady  in  the  inquiry- 
room,  when  I  noticed  a  gentleman  walking  up  and 
down  before  the  door.  I  went  forward,  and  said :  "Are 
you  a  Christian  T  He  was  very  angry,  and  turned  on  his 
heel  and  left  me.  The  following  Sunday  night  I  was 
preaching  about  "receiving,"  and  I  put  the  question: 
"Who'll  receive  Him  now.''"  That  young  man  was 
present,  and  the  question  sank  into  his  heart.  The  next 
day  he  called  upon  me — he  was  a  merchant  in  that  city — 


68  ANECDOTES, 

and  said  :  "  Do  you  remember  me  ?"  "  No,  I  do  n*t.'* 
"Do  you  remember  the  young  man  who  answered  you 
so  roughly  the  other  night  ?"  "  Yes,  I  do."  "Well,  I  've 
come  to  tell  you  that  I  am  saved."  "  How  did  it  hap- 
pen ?"  "  Why,  I  was  listening  to  your  sermon  last 
night,  and  when  you  asked,  'Who'll  receive  Him  now.?* 
God  put  it  into  my  heart  to  say :  *  I  will  ;*  and  he  has 
opened  my  eyes  to  see  his  Son  now." 


-       THE  PARENTS'  PRA  YER  ANSWERED. 

O  EVERAL  years  ago,  a  young  man,  the  son  of  worthy 
parents,  living  on  a  quiet  Illinois  farm,  left  his  home 
to  seek  a  fortune  in  Chicago.  He  entered  that  city  a 
strict  moralist,  but  not  a  Christian,  and  a  few  months 
later  a  farmer  neighbor,  visiting  the  city,  saw  him  reel- 
ing drunk  through  the  streets.  The  old  neighbor  re- 
turned home,  but  for  days  his  courage  failed  him  when 
he  endeavored  to  tell  the  pitiful  story  to  the  Christian 
father.  And  when  he  told  it  he  repented  of  his  act,  for 
the  father's  face  grew  aged  as  he  listened.  That  even- 
ing the  father  and  mother  sat  in  their  quiet  parlor,  and 
gently  as  he  could,  the  husband  told  his  grief  to  his  wife. 
Oh,  how  sad  were  those  parents  then !  They  sat  dumb- 
founded by  their  misery  before  they  thought  to  roll  the 
burden  upon  Christ.  They  prayed  all  through  the  night, 
and  when  the  morning  came  the  mother  was  blithe  and 
cheerful.  She  said  that  God  had  given  to  her  evidence 
that  her  son  would  be  saved.     But  the  father  was  still 


ANECDOTES.  69 

sad.  A  week  later  that  son  returned  home  unexpected- 
ly. He  went  straight  to  his  mother,  confessed  his  fauUs, 
and  told  her  of  the  miles  he  had  journeyed  on  purpose 
to  kneel  with  her  in  prayer.  The  little  family  then 
gathered  around  their  household  altar,  and  the  next  time 
the  son  went  to  Chicago  he  entered  the  city  a  Christian, 

not  a*  mere  moralist. 

% 

A  SOUTH  WALES  INCIDENT. 
T  N  London,  the  day  after  Mr.  Moody's  services  closed, 
a  lad  came  and  asked  him  to  go  to  South  Wales  to 
preach.  He  could  not  go,  but  he  asked  the  lad :  "  Are 
you  a  Christian  ?"  and  he  found  the  lad's  mother  had 
given  him  £^2  to  go  to  London,  and  if  he  became  a 
Christian  he  might  go  back  and  teach  the  rest.  This 
the  lad  told  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  and  standing  in  the 
rain.  Mr.  Moody  obtained  his  address,  and  wrote  ask- 
ing him  to  come  to  his  meeting  at  Liverpool;  but  as 
soon  as  he  arrived  at  Compton  Hotel,  the  first  person  he 
met  was  the  lad,  with  his  face  lit  up  as  he  said :  "  I  *ve 
found  the  Lord!"  "Where.?"  "At  the  Young  Men's 
meeting  last  night."  And  the  lad  was  then  present  in 
the  hall. 


WHY  DO  NT  YOU  LOVE  JESUS  f 

T  REMEMBER   a  story  about  a   teacher  telling  the 

scholars  all  to  follow  Jesus,  and  how  they  might  all 

be  missionaries,  and  go  out  to  work  for  others.      And 

one  day  one  of  the  smallest  came  to  her  and  said  :  "  I  asked 


70  ANECDOTES. 

such  and  such  a  one  to  come  with  me,  and  they  said  they 
would  like  to  come,  but  their  father  was  an  infidel."  And 
the  young  child  wanted  to  know  what  an  infidel  was,  and 
the  teacher  went  on  to  explain  it  to  her.  And  one  day, 
when  she  was  on  her  way  to  school,  this  infidel  was 
coming  out  of  the  postoffice  with  his  letters  in  his  hand, 
when  the  child  ran  up  to  him,  and  said:  "Why  don't 
you  love  Jesus  T  He  thought  at  first  to  push  her  aside, 
but  the  child  pressed  it  home  again:  "Why  don't  you 
love  Jesus  T'  If  it  had  been  a  man  the  infidel  would 
have  resented  it ;  but  he  did  not  know  what  to  do  with 
the  child,  and  with  tears  in  her  eyes  she  asked  him 
again  :  "  Oh  !  please  tell  me,  why  do  n't  you  love  Jesus  ?" 
He  went  on  to  his  office,  but  he  felt  as  if  every  letter  he 
opened  read:  "Why  don't  you  love  Jesus?"  He  at- 
tempted to  write,  with  the  same  result ;  every  letter 
seemed  to  ask  him :  "  Why  do  n't  you  love  Jesus  .'*"  and 
he  threw  down  his  pen  in  despair,  and  went  out  of  his 
officie,  but  he  could  not  get  rid  of  the  question ;  it  was 
asked  by  a  still  small  voice  within,  and  as  he  walked 
along  it  seemed  as  if  the  very  ground  and  the  very 
heavens  whispered  to  him  :  "  Why  do  n't  you  love  Jesus.?" 
At  last  he  went  home,  and  there  it  seemed  as  if  his  own 
children  asked  him  the  question  ;  so  he  said  to  his  wife : 
"I  will  go  to  bed  early  to-night,"  thinking  to  sleep  it 
away  ;  but  when  he  laid  his  head  on  the  pillow  it  seemed 
as  if  the  pillow  whispered  it  to  him.  So  he  got  up  about 
midnight,  and  said :  "  I  can  find  out  where  Christ  con- 
tradicts himself,  and  I  '11  search  it  out  and  prove  him  a 


ANECDOTES,  71 

liar."  Well,  the  man  got  up,  and  turned  to  the  Gospel 
of  John,  and  read  on  from  the  beginning  until  he  came 
to  the  words :  "  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave 
his  only-begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  What  love ! 
he  thought ;  and  at  last  the  old  infidel's  heart  was  stirred. 
He  could  find  no  reason  for  not  loving  Jesus,  and  down 
he  went  on  his  knees  and  prayed,  and  before  the  sun 
rose  the  old  infidel  was  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 


THE  CHILD  ANGEL, 

A  FEW  years  ago  I  was  attending  a  Sabbath-school 
convention  in  a  little  tovvn,  where  a  man  to  whom 
I  was  a  stranger  took  me  into  his  house.  It  was  a  warm 
day,  and  the  curtains  were  down,  so  that  the  room  was 
dark.  His  wife  was  in  bed,  and  he  excused  himself 
because  he  had  some  matters  to  attend  to.  I  was  left 
alone.  It  was  so  dark  that  I  could  not  read,  and  I 
walked  up  and  down  the  room  till  I  felt  lonely.  Pres- 
ently he  came  in,  and  I  said:  "  Have  you  no  children  V 
I  am  very  fond  of  children,  and  I  thought  if  he  had  any 
I  could  play  with  them.  He  said  no  ;  he  had  had  one, 
but  God  had  taken  her  from  him ;  she  was  in  heaven, 
and  he  said  he  was  glad  of  it.  I  said :  "  Glad  that  your 
only  child  is  dead  .?"  "  Yes,"  he  said.  "  How  is  that  .'*" 
>  I  asked ;  "  was  she  deformed,  or  was  anything  wrong 
with  her  t'  "  No,"  he  said,  "  she  was  as  perfect  as  could 
be ;"  and  he  got  up  and  brought  me  one  of  those  old- 


72  ANECDOTES, 

fashioned  daguerreotypes — a  portrait  of  a  beautiful  girl, 
with  golden  curls  falling  down  her  neck,  more  like  an 
angel  than  a  child.  I  asked  how  old  she  was.  "  Seven." 
"  What  do  you  mean  by  saying  you  are  glad  she  is  in 
heaven  T  *'  Well,"  said  he,  "  I  worshipped  that  child ; 
that  child  was  in  all  my  plans.  I  was  making  money  for 
my  child,  and  every  Sunday  I  spent  hours  with  her;  she 
was  the  idol  of  my  heart,  but  I  did  not  know  it.  One 
day  I  found  my  child  sick.  I  did  not  think  it  was  dan- 
gerous, but  in  a  few  days  she  died,  and  I  accused  God 
of  being  unjust  in  sparing  the  families  of  others  and 
taking  away  my  child,  and  I  refused  to  be  reconciled.  I 
would  have  torn  God  from  his  throne  if  I  could.  For 
three  days  and  nights  I  neither  ate,  nor  drank,  nor  slept. 
I  was  almost  mad.  On  the  third  day  I  buried  her,  and 
when  I  came  home,  as  I  walked  up  and  down  the  room, 
I  thought  I  heard  the  voice  of  my  little  one ;  but  then  I 
thought :  '  No,  that  voice  is  hushed  for  ever.'  Then  I 
thought  I  heard  her  little  feet  coming  towards  me,  but 
then  I  said :  *  No,  I  shall  never  hear  those  little  feet 
again.'  At  last  I  threw  myself  on  my  bed,  and  began  to 
weep.  Nature  gave  way,  and  I  fell  asleep.  I  had  a 
dream.  I  suppose  it  was  a  dream  ;  but  it  has  always 
^  seemed  to  me  more  like  a  vision.  I  thou^^ht  I  was 
crossing  a  waste,  barren  field,  and  I  came  to  a  river  that 
looked  so  cold,  and  dark,  and  dreary,  that  I  drew  back 
from  it ;  but,  looking  across,  I  saw  the  most  beautiful 
land  my  eyes  had  ever  rested  upon ;  and  as  I  gazed  I 
thought  that  death,  and  sickness,  and  disease,  could  never 


ANECDOTES.  75 

enter  there.  Then  I  saw  a  company  on  the  other  side, 
and  among  them  my  own  darhng  child.  She  came  to 
the  bank  of  the  river,  and  waving  her  angel  hand,  said  : 
'  Father,  come  right  this  way ;  it  is  so  beautiful  here  ;' 
and  she  beckoned  me  to  the  world  of  light.  I  then 
went  to  the  water's  edge  and  thought  I  would  plunge  in, 
but  it  was  too  deep  for  me — I  could  not  swim.  I 
thought  I  would  give  anything  to  cross.  I  tried  to  find 
a  boat,  but  there  was  no  ferryman.  I  looked  for  a  bridge, 
but  there  was  none ;  and  while  I  was  wandering  up  and 
down,  the  little  angel  voice  came  across  the  stream : 
*  Come  right  this  way,  father  ;  it  is  beautiful  here !'  All 
at  once  I  heard  a  voice  as  if  it  came  from  heaven,  say- 
ing :  *  I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life.  No  man 
cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  Me.*  The  voice  awoke 
me  from  sleep.  I  thought  it  was  my  God  calling  me, 
and  that  if  I  would  ever  see  my  child  again  I  must  come 
to  God  through  Jesus  Christ.  That  night  I  knelt  beside 
my  bed  and  gave  myself  to  God.  Now  I  no  longer  look 
upon  m.y  child  as  sleeping  in  her  grave,  but  I  see  her 
with  the  eye  of  faith  in  that  beautiful  land,  and  every 
night  when  I  lie  down  I  hear  her  sweet  voice  saying : 
'  Come  right  this  way,  father,*  and  every  morning  I  hear 
her  repeating  the  same  words.  Now  my  wife  is  con- 
verted, I  am  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath-school,  and 
eight  children  have  been  converted,  and  I  am  trying  to 
get  as  many  converted  as  I  can  to  go  with  me  to  that 
beautiful  land.'*  ^ 


74  ANECDOTES. 

THE  SKEPTIC  SUBDUED. 
Y^N  the  night  when  the  text  was:  ^' Son,  remember," 
a  young,  but  violent  and  very  determined  skeptic, 
of  about  the  age  of  twenty,  came  into  the  men's  meet- 
ing, and  gathered  around  him  a  small  crowd,  who  were 
all  opposing  him.  Of  course,  this  was  apparently  very 
unfair  and  unequal,  but  then  it  was  prompted  by  the 
extreme  language  the  young  man  employed,  and  by  his 
erratic  statements  such  as :  God  would  not  be  so  wicked 
as  to  send  him  to  hell ;  he  served  God  as  faithfully  as 
any  one ;  he  was  sure  there  was  no  hell ;  he  needed  no 
salvation  ;  was  no  sinner ;  Satan  did  not  exist ;  he  knew 
as  much  about  ethics,  etc.,  as  any  one  ;  the  usual  line  of 
statement  and  expression  in  vogue  with  skeptics.  The 
phrenologist  he  did  believe  in  ;  he  had  examined  his 
head  and  told  him  he  was  of  a  skeptical  tendency,  and 
would  always  be  so  ;  therefore  God  was  to  blame  for  the 
views  he  held,  as  they  resulted  from  physical  formation, 
etc.  A  week  passed,  and  one  night  in  the  young  men's 
meeting,  our  skeptical  young  friend  appeared  ;  and  with 
a  view  to  prevent  him  infusing  any  of  the  poison  of  Satan 
into  young  quickened  souls,  I  drew  near ;  not  however, 
intending  to  speak  unless  required.  But  who  can  describe 
the  marvels  of  Divine  ,grace  ?  I  found  it  had  subdued 
the  lion,  altered  his  nature,  and  had  made  him  into  a 
lamb.  He  told  me  God's  Spirit  had  been  dealing  with 
him.  He  had  come  to  make  caricatures  of  scenes  he 
had  witnessed,  and,  of  course,  I  thought  it  possible  his 
present  profession  might  be  a  disguised  attempt  to  create 


ANECDOTES.  75 

a  scene  for  a  picture  ;  but  investigation  convinced  me  to 
the  contrary.  I  found  his  soul  had  been  arrested,  and 
in  his  distress  he  sought  rehef  in  the  inquiry-room.  A 
clergyman  became  instrumental  in  removing  many  diffi- 
culties, and  the  soul  could  hold  out  no  longer.  He  went 
home  and  threw  himself  down  before  God,  and  then,  like 
Jacob,  wrestled  in  prayer  till  he  found  deliverance  by 
believing  in  Jesus.  On  Friday  night,  at  the  young 
men's  meeting,  this  young  man  stated  the  circumstances 
of  his  conversion,  and  was  listened  to  with  breathless 
interest.  He  closed  with  words  to  this  effect :  ''  Now, 
like  Thomas,  I  say  to  Jesus,  My  Lord  and  my  God." 


PERSEVERANCE  IN  PRA  VER. 
A  T  one  of  the  prayer-meetings  at  the  Brooklyn  Taber- 
^^  nacle  (Dr.  Talmage's  Church)  Mr.  Moody  closed  by 
narrating  an  instance  of  persevering  prayer  by  a  Chris- 
tian wife  for  an  infidel  husband.  She  resolved  to  pray 
for  him  at  noon  for  eighteen  months,  and  at  the  expira- 
tion of  that  time,  her  knockings  not  having  been  respond- 
ed to,  she  exclaimed:  "Lord,  I  will  pray  for  him  every 
day,  and  at  all  hours,  so  long  as  life  lasts."  That  day 
the  Lord  heard  her  knock,  and  gave  her  the  desire  of  her 
heart  in  the  conversion  of  her  husband. 


MR.  MOODY'S  LAST  CHICAGO  CONVERTS. 
A  LMOST  the  last  family  that  was  converted  before  we 
left  Chicago  was  thus.     We  were  out  riding,  and 
just  making  a  few  calls  on  New  Year's  day  and  I  said  : 


76  ANECDOTES. 

"  Let  us  go  in  and  see  our  friends,"  mentioning  a  publi- 
can that  had  kept  a  bar  for  a  long  time.  I  went  in  and 
sat  with  him,  and  at  last  I  said :  "  Sha'  n't  we  have  pray- 
er?" and  he  said  he  should  have  no  objection.  Then  we 
asked  him  up  to  the  meeting  that  night,  and  he  came 
and  God  met  him.  Twelve  long  years  I  was  after  that 
man  before  he  was  converted.  Then  his  wife  came  and 
found  peace ;  then  his  son,  then  his  daughter  and  ulti- 
mately the  whole  family. 


A  CONVERTED  FAMILY. 
A  YOUNG  lady,  who  had  been  converted,  was  sorely 
troubled  what  to  do  with  her  affianced  husband,  who 
was  a  wild  young  fellow,  and  quite  a  hopeless  case  in  the 
way  of  religious  impressions.  One  evening,  while  he  was 
paying  her  a  visit,  he  noticed  that  she  seemed  to  have 
something  on  her  mind ;  and,  on  inquiring  what  it  was, 
she  told  him  she  had  become  a  Christian,  and  was  in 
great  doubt  whether  she  could  be  happy  with  a  man  who 
had  no  interest  in  religion.  In  a  manner  half-laughing 
and  half-crying,  the  young  man  relieved  her  anxiety  as 
follows:  "Don't  be  troubled,  Mary;  I  have  been  to  the 
meetings  too.  I  went  down  there  the  other  night,  just 
to  see  what  the  fun  was  ;  and,  before  I  had  been  there 
long,  Mr.  Sankey  sang  something  that  went  straight  to 
my  heart.  So  now  I  am  a  Christian  too;  and  we  will  go 
to  heaven  together."  The  joyful  news  was  told  the  moth- 
er of  the  young  lady,  who  came  in  just  then,  but,  instead 


ANECDOTES.  77 

of  giving  her  approbation,  she  laughed  at  the  young  peo- 
ple for  spending  their  time  in  talking  of  religion  ;  saying, 
as  they  were  about  to  be  married  soon,  they  had  better 
be  giving  attention  to  housekeeping  matters  and  other 
practical  things.  But  at  length  the  mother  was  herself 
brought  under  deep  conviction,  which  she  was  unable  to 
shake  off;  and  the  good  work  progressing  in  the  house- 
hold, brought  several  of  her  children  and  other  relatives 
into  the  fold  of  Christ. 


SUDDEN  CONVERSION 
'V  17" HEN  I  was  in  Manchester,  I  went  into  the  gallery 
one  Sunday  night  to  have  a  talk  with  a  few  in- 
quirers, and  while  I  was  talking  a  business  man  came  in, 
and  took  his  seat  on  the  outskirts  of  the  audience.  I 
think  at  first  he  had  come  merely  to  criticise,  and  that 
he  was  a  little  skeptical.  At  last  I  saw  he  was  in  tears. 
I  turned  to  him  and  said  :  "  My  friend,  what  is  your  diffi- 
culty .?"  "Well,"  he  said,  "Mr.  Moody,  the  fact  is,  I 
cannot  tell."  I  said :  "  Do  you  believe  you  are  a  sinner  V 
He  said:  "Yes,  I  know  that."  I  said:  "Christ  is  able 
to  save  you ;"  and  I  used  one  illustration  after  another, 
but  he  did  not  see  it.  At  last  I  used  the  ark,  and  I 
said  :  "  Was  it  Noah's  feelings  that  saved  him  }  Was  it 
Noah's  righteousness  that  saved  him,  or  was  it  the  ark.?" 
"  Mr.  Moody,"  said  he,  "  I  see  it."  He  got  up  and  shook 
hands  with  me,  and  said :  "  Good-night,  I  have  to  go.     I 

have  to  go  away  in  the  train  to-night,  but  I  was  deter- 

1* 


78  ANECDOTES. 

mined  to  be  saved  before  I  went.  I  see  it  now."  I  con- 
fess it  seemed  almost  too  sudden  for  me,  and  I  was 
almost  afraid  it  could  not  live.  A  few  days  after,  he 
came  and  touched  me  on  the  shoulder,  and  said :  "  Do 
you  know  me  ?"  I  said  :  "  I  know  your  face,  but  do  not 
remember  where  I  have  seen  you."  He  said  :  "  Do  not 
you  remember  the  illustration  of  the  ark  V  I  said : 
**  Yes."  He  said  :  "  It  has  been  all  light  ever  since.  I 
understand  it  now.  Christ  is  the  ark  ;  he  saves  me,  and 
I  must  get  inside  him."  When  I  went  down  to  Man- 
chester again,  and  talked  to  the  young  friends  there,  I 
found  he  was  the  brightest  light  among  them. 


THE  DYING  SOLDIER, 

A  FTER  one  of  our  terrible  battles — I  was  in  the  army, 
^^  attending  soldiers — and  I  had  just  laid  down  one 
night,  past  midnight,  to  get  a  little  rest,  when  a  man 
came  and  told  me  that  a  wounded  soldier  wanted  to  see 
me.  I  went  to  the  dying  man.  He  said :  "  I  wish  you 
to  help  me  to  die."  I  said  :  "  I  would  help  you  to  die  if 
I  could.  I  would  take  you  on  my  shoulders  and  carry  you 
into  the  kingdom  of  God  if  I  could ;  but  I  cannot.  I  can 
tell  you  of  One  that  can."  And  I  told  him  of  Christ 
being  willing  to  save  him ;  and  how  Christ  left  heaven 
and  came  into  the  world  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which 
was  lost.  I  just  quoted  promise  after  promise,  but  all 
was  dark,  and  it  almost  seemed  as  if  the  shades  of  eternal 
death  were  gathering  around  his  souL     I  could  not  leave 


ANECDOTES.  79 

him,  and  at  last  I  thought  of  the  third  chapter  of  John, 
and  I  said  to  him :  "  Look  here,  I  am  going  to  read  to 
you  now  a  conversation  that  Christ  had  with  a  man  that 
went  to  him  when  he  was  in  your  state  of  mind,  and 
inquired  what  he  was  to  do  to  be  saved."  I  just  read  that 
conversation  to  the  dying  man,  and  he  lay  there  with  his 
eyes  riveted  upon  me,  and  every  word  seemed  to  be 
going  home  to  his  heart,  which  was  open  to  receive  the 
truth.  When  I  came  to  the  verse  where  it  says,  "  As 
Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so 
must  the  Son  of  man  be  lifted  up :  that  whosoever 
belie veth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life," 
the  dying  man  cried  :  "  Stop,  sir.  Is  that  there  T'  "  Yes, 
it  is  all  here."  Then  he  said :  "  Wont  you  please  read 
it  to  me  again  T  I  read  it  the  second  time.  The  dying 
man  brought  his  hands  together,  and  he  said :  "  Bless 
God  for  that.  Wont  you  please  read  it  to  me  again  T 
I  read  through  the  whole  chapter,  but  long  before  the 
end  of  it  he  had  closed  his  eyes.  He  seemed  to  lose  all 
interest  in  the  rest  of  the  chapter,  and  when  I  got 
through  it  his  arms  were  folded  on  his  breast,  he  had  a 
sweet  smile  on  his  face ;  remorse  and  despair  had  fled 
away.  His  lips  were  quivering,  and  I  leant  ovqr  him, 
and  heard  him  faintly  whisper  from  his  dying  lips :  "  As 
Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so 
must  the  Son  of  man  be  lifted  up;  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life." 
He  opened  his  eyes,  and  fixed  his  calm,  deathly  look  on 
me,  and  said:  "Oh  that  is  enough:  that  is  all  I  want;" 


8o  ANECDOTES. 

and  he  pillowed  his  dying  head  upon  the  truth  of  those 
two  verses,  and,  in  a  few  hours,  rode  away  on  one  of  the 
Saviour's  chariots,  and  took  his  seat  in  the  kingdom  of  ■ 

God. 

♦ 

A  DOG-FIGHTER'S  STORY. 

A  STRIKING  incident  occurred  at  the  noon  meeting 
^^  on  Whit- Monday.  Among  other  cases  illustrative 
of  the  good  done,  a  gentleman  present  said  he  would  like 
to  tell  the  meeting  of  a  remarkable  conversion  which  had 
taken  place  through  one  of  these  meetings  the  other 
day — the  conversion  of  a  noted  dog-fighter,  who,  he  be- 
lieved, was  then  present.  "  Then,"  cried  Mr.  Moody,  "  I 
should  like  if  he  would  come  forward  and  give  the  story 
himself."  The  man  hesitated  for  a  little,  but  in  the  end 
was  conducted  to  Mr.  Moody's  dais,  and  proceeded  to  tell 
his  tale. 

He  said  he  had  been  carrying  on  the  business  of  a 
dog-fighter  in  the  East  end  of  London,  and  had  a  very 
valuable  dog,  called  Tiger,  which  had  cost  a  deal  of 
money,  and  which  had  also  won  a  good  deal  of  money 
in  dog-fights.  Well,  he  had  a  fight  on  for  the  dog  for 
Whit-Monday,  for  £\o\  but  a  few  days  before  that  a 
little  child  of  his  died,  and  it  had  affected  him  very  much. 
He  did  not  know  what  to  do  to  get  rid  of  his  feelings,  and 
so  he  was  going  to  a  public-house  to  have  a  pipe  and 
something  to  drink,  to  help  him  to  forget  his  sorrow; 
but  as  he  was  going  he  thought:  "Well,  there's  this 
Moody  and  Sankey,  suppose  I  go  and  hear  them  T     He 


ANECDOTES,  81 

went  and  heard  Mr.  Moody  speak,  and  came  out  thinking 
it  was  all  very  good,  but  it  did  not  concern  him.  His 
business  was  very  dull,  and  he  had  no  sport  to  go  to,  so 
he  went  again.  This  time  Mr.  Aitken  was  the  preacher, 
and  the  man  said  that  it  appeared  as  if  the  preacher  left 
off  speaking  to  the  audience  and  directed  his  remarks 
straight  at  him.  He  sat  down  that  he  should  not  see 
him,  but  he  only  hit  him  harder  than  before.  The  service 
being  over,  he  felt  uncomfortable,  and  went  and  made 
inquiries  about  the  matter,  and  then  found  that  all  men 
were  born  in  sin.  After  a  deal  of  conversation,  and  by 
the  grace  of  God,  he  was  enabled  to  trust  simply  in  Jesus, 
and  since  that  time  he  had  been  quite  happy.  There  was 
his  dog ;  what  was  he  to  do  with  that  t  Every  time 
he  saw  Tiger  he  saw  there  was  a  terrible  link  between 
his  past  life  and  his  present,  and  he  was  afraid  if  he  sold 
the  dog  he  would  only  lead  some  one  else  into  sin.  So 
he  at  last  decided  to  destroy  the  dog,  although  it  cost  a 
good  sum  of  money,  and  was  a  very  valuable  animal. 
This  he  did — he  tied  the  dog  in  a  sack  and  drowned  him 
in  the  river. 

The  relation  of  this  story  by  the  man  himself  pro- 
duced a  great  effect  upon  the  audience. 


A  JEWS  CONVERSION. 

T  WAS  going  out  of  a  meeting  in  Chicago,  when  a 

man,  greatly  excited,  came  up  to  me,  and  asked  if  the 

meeting  was  ever.     I  said  it  was.     I  saw  he  was  a  Jew. 


82  ANECDOTES, 

I  went  back  into  the  church  with  him,  and  took  a  Bible, 
and  was  turning  over  some  passages  in  the  Testament 
when  he  said :  "  Sir,  I  am  a  Jew.  Do  n't  read  me  the 
New  Testament ;  I  do  n't  believe  it."  I  asked  him  what 
had  roused  him,  and  he  said,  "  I  was  going  by  a  church, 
and  I  heard  singing,  and  stopped  to  listen ;  and  after  the 
singing  the  minister  took  his  text,  'It  is  appointed  unto 
men  once  to  die,  and  after  death  the  judgment.'  "  He 
believed  in  death,  but  did  not  believe  in  the  judgment; 
so  he  went  out,  but  the  text  kept  coming  back.  Said 
he,  "  I  could  not  get  it  out  of  my  mind ;  it  troubled  me ; 
I  could  not  sleep,  and  I  came  to  ask  you  what  I  want." 
I  said,  "You  want  Jesus."  "No,"  said  he,  "I  don't 
want  to  hear  about  Jesus ;  he  was  an  impostor ;  do  n't 
talk  about  him."  I  turned  to  the  third  chapter  of  John, 
fourteenth  verse,  "And  as  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent 
in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted 
up."  The  Jew  said,  "  Is  that  in  the  New  Testament .''" 
"  Yes, "  said  I.  "  Why,  that  is  in  the  Old  Testament ! 
Are  you  sure  you  are  reading  that  out  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment.?" I  showed  him  the  book.  "And  now,"  I  said, 
"let  us  get  down  on  our  knees  and  pray."  He  got 
down,  and  prayed  to  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob ;  but  all  at  once  he  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  cried, 
"  I  see  it !  I  see  it !"  I  thought  he  had  gone  mad. 
"What  do  you  see.?"  I  asked.  "Well,"  said  he,  "I 
thought  I  saw  Moses  lifting  up  the  serpent,  and  all  at 
once  the  serpent  vanished,  and  in  the  place  of  the  ser- 
pent was   the  cross,  and  on  it  Jesus  of  Nazareth ;  he 


ANECDOTES.  83 

was  the  true  Messiah ;"  and  away  he  went  to  tell  the 
story. 

THE  POWER  OF  SACRED  SONG. 
A  MONG  the  conversions  under  my  preaching  at 
Northfield,  was  that  of  a  prominent  business  man, 
over  fifty  years  of  age,  thoroughly  worldly  in  his  habits 
and  life,  and  addicted  to  profanity.  He  attended  the 
services,  at- first,  from  curiosity,  but  afterwards  from 
heart-conviction.  The  plain,  fervent  words  of  the  lay- 
preacher  took  deep  hold.  He  went  to  the  Sunday-school 
the  following  Sabbath,  and  during  the  singing  of  a  hymn 
familiar  in  his  childhood,  he  broke  down  and  wept  like  a 
child.  His  testimony  now,  among  his  old  associates,  "  is 
as  far  for  God  as  it  was  for  the  devil  before." 


THE  RECRUITING  OFFICER. 
1  ^TALKING  along  the  streets  of  York,  England,  I 
saw  a  soldier,  and  I  said,  "  I  want  to  ask  you  a  ques- 
tion." I  had  had  a  fight  about  sudden  conversion  in 
that  old  cathedral  town,  so  I  said  to  him,  "  I  would  like 
you  to  tell  me  when  you  became  a  soldier."  "  Well,"  he 
said,  "  the  moment  the  recruiting  officer  put  the  English 
shilling  into  my  hand,  I  became  a  soldier."  Look  at  it ; 
one  moment  he  was  a  civilian,  free  to  do  what  he  chose ; 
the  next  a  soldier,  bound,  and  he  had  to  go  where  Queen 
Victoria  sent  him.  So  you  ask  how  a  man  can  become 
suddenly  converted.  Just  take  the  gift  of  God  as  the 
soldier  did  the  English  shilling. 


84  ANECDOTES. 

THE  REPORTER'S  CONVERSION. 
/^NE  of  the  most  conspicuous  persons  at  the  Brooklyn 
Rink  was  a  man  of  over  fifty  years,  a  reporter,  ap- 
parently of  a  sensational  sort.  One  of  my  friends  enter- 
ed into  conversation  with  him  the  second  evening,  and 
found  him  partially  intoxicated,  ribald,  sneering,  and  an 
infidel.  Inquiring  further  concerning  him,  we  found 
that  he  had  been  several  times  in  the  city-jail  for  drunken 
brawls,  although  originally  a  man  of  culture  and  polish. 
Time  passed,  and  on  our  last  day  at  Brooklyn  the  same 
man,  conspicuous  by  his  commanding  figure,  sat  in  a 
back  seat  in  the  Simpson  Church.  My  friend  accosted 
him  once  more,  and  this  was  the  answer :  "  I  am  wait- 
ing to  thank  Mr.  Moody,  who,  under  God,  has  been  the 
greatest  blessing  of  my  life  to  me.  I  have  given  up  my 
engagement,  the  temptations  of  which  are  such  as  no 
Christian  can  face.  And  I  am  a  Christian — a  new  crea- 
ture ;  not  reformed ;  you  cannot  reform  a  drunkard ;  I 
tried  that  a  hundred  times ;  but  I  am  regenerated,  born 
again  by  the  grace  and  power  of  God.  I  have  reported 
sermons  many  a  time,  simply  to  ridicule  them,  but  never 
had  the  least  idea  what  true  religion  meant  till  I  heard 
Mr.  Moody's  address  on  '  Love  and  Sympathy,'  ten  days 
ago,  and  I  would  not  have  believed  there  could  be  so 
much  sweetness  in  a  lifetime  as  has  been  condensed  into 
those  ten  days.  My  children  know  the  change ;  my 
wife  knows  it ;  I  have  set  up  the  family  altar,  and  the 
appetite  for  liquor  has  been  so  utterly  taken  away,  that 
I  only  loathe  what  I  used  to  love,"    "  Let  him  that  stand- 


ANECDOTES.  85 

eth  take  heed  lest  he  fall,"  suggested  my  friend.  "  No, 
not  while  I  stand  so  close  to  the  cross  as  I  do  to-day ;" 
and  he  opened  a  small  hymn-book,  on  the  fly-leaf  of 
which  was  written :  '*  I  have  set  my  face  like  a  flint,  and 
I  know  that  I  shall  not  be  ashamed." 


CONVERTED  IN  A  CELL, 

T  WAS  invited  one  day,  some  years  ago,  to  visit  and 
preach  in  the  Tombs  prison.  New  York.  I  had  sup- 
posed that  I  should  address  the  prisoners  face  to  face,  as 
I  used  to  talk  to  the  prisoners  in  the  chapels  of  most  of 
our  jails.  But  when  I  got  there,  I  found  I  had  to  stand 
on  a  little  iron  railing  running  from  one  tier  of  cells  to 
another.  There  was  a  tier  above  and  one  below,  and  one 
on  the  same  level  with  me.  There  I  talked  to  a  great, 
long,  narrow  passageway — to  gates,  to  bars,  and  to  brick 
walls.  It  was  pretty  hard  preaching.  I  had  never  at- 
tempted to  preach  in  that  way  before.  I  did  not  know, 
when  I  got  through  with  it,  how  they  had  received  me  ; 
and  so  I  thought  I  would  go  and  see  them.  I  went  to 
the  first  cell-door  and  looked  in.  I  found  the  men  play- 
ing euchre.  I  suppose  they  had  been  playing  all  the 
time  that  I  was  preaching,  and  took  no  interest  in  the 
sermon.  I  looked  into  the  window,  and  I  said,  "  How  is 
it  with  you  here  V  "  O  chaplain,  we  do  not  want  you  to 
have  a  bad  idea  of  us."  I  said  to  myself,  "There  is  no 
one  here  to  be  saved,  for  there  is  no  one  lost."     And  I 

got  away  as  quick  as  I  could.     I  went  to  another  cell. 

8 


86  ANECDOTES, 

There  were  three  or  four  men  in  there  ;  and  I  said,  "  How 
is  it  with  you  here  ?"  "  Well,  stranger,  we  will  tell  you. 
We  got  into  bad  company,  and  the  men  that  done  the 
deed  got  clear  and  we  got  caught."  I  thought  to  myself, 
"  There  is  no  one  here  for  Christ  to  save,  for  there  is  no 
one  lost."  And  I  went  along  to  the  next  cell ;  and  I 
said,  "  Well,  my  friends,  how  is  it  with  you  V  One  of 
them  said,  "  A  false  witness  went  to  court  and  swore  a 
lie  upon  me."  He  was  perfectly  innocent,  and  ought  not 
to  be  there.  I  went  on  to  the  next  cell,  looked  in,  and 
said,  "  Well,  my  friends,  how  is  it  with  you  T  They  were 
innocent,  thank  God !  But  the  man  that  did  the  deed 
looked  very  much  like  them.  The  people  thought  they 
were  the  men,  and  they  got  caught.  They  were  perfectly 
innocent.  They  were  not  the  men.  I  went  along  to  the 
next  cell.  But  no  sooner  did  I  ask  the  same  question 
than  they  said  they  had  not  had  their  trial.  They  were 
going  to  have  it  that  week,  and  they  would  be  out  on 
next  Sunday.  And  so  I  went  on.  I  never  found  so 
many  innocent  men.  They  were  all  innocent.  I  found 
a  great  many  innocent  men  under  lock  and  key,  and  they 
were  all  trying  to  justify  themselves.  There  was  no  one 
guilty  but  the  constables,  the  justices,  or  magistrates. 
They  were  the  guilty  ones.  I  got  discouraged.  I  thought 
I  would  give  it  up ;  but  I  kept  on,  and  I  found  one  man  in 
a  cell  alone.  He  had  his  elbows  on  his  knees,  and  had 
his  head  buried  in  his  hands.  As  I  looked  in,  I  could 
see  the  streams  of  tears  running  down  upon  his  cheeks. 
They  were  the  first  tears  I  had  seen.     It  did  me  good  to 


ANECDOTES,  87 

look  at  them.  I  said,  "  My  friend,  how  is  it  with  you 
here?"  He  looked  up.  It  was  a  look  of  remorse  and 
despair.  He  said,  "  O  sir,  my  sins  are  more  than  I  can 
bear."  ''  Thank  God  for  that !"  said  I.  "  Thank  God  for 
that !  A'  n't  you  the  man  that 's  been  preaching  to  us  .?" 
"Yes,  sir."  "And  yet  I  thought  you  said  you  was  a 
friend  to  the  prisoner ;  and  you  are  glad  that  my  sins 
are  more  than  I  can  bear .?"  "  Yes."  "  Yes }  Then  you 
are  a  queer  kind  of  friend.  How  is  it  that  you  are  glad 
that  my  sins  are  more  than  I  can  bear  T'  "  I  am  glad 
that  they  are  more  than  you  can  bear.  For  if  they  are 
more  than  you  can  bear,  you  can  cast  them  on  the  Lord 
Jesus."  "  He  will  not  bear  my  sins.  Why,  I  am  the 
worst  man  living  to-day."  And  he  began  enumerating 
his  sins,  and  what  a  load  it  was  for  him  to  bear.  It  was 
refreshing  to  stand  there  and  hear  him  tell  me.  It  was 
the  Lord  Jesus  that  had  got  into  that  cell  and  into  that 
man's  heart,  and  I  told  him  so ;  then  I  told  him  to  pray 
to  God  to  forgive  him  and  to  take  away  his  sin.  He 
thought  God  would  never  forgive  such  a  sinner  as  he 
was.  I  told  him,  "You  can  get  all  those  sins,  multiplied 
by  ten  thousand,  forgiven ;  because  you  have  committed 
probably  ten  thousand  more  sins  than  you  have  thought 
of.  You  can  sum  them  all  up,  and  write  underneath, 
'  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  his  Son,  cleanseth  from  all 
sin.'"  And  I  stood  there  and  preached  the  Gospel  to 
that  thirsty  soul.  He  seemed  to  drink  it  in.  I  said, 
"  Let  us  get  down  here  and  pray."  And  we  did,  he  inside 
and  I  outside.     And  after  I  got  through  prayer  I  said, 


88  ANECDOTES. 

"  My  friend,  now  you  pray."  "  I  pray !  It  would  be 
blasphemy  for  me  to  pray — for  a  wretch  like  me  to  call 
upon  God."  I  said  to  him,  "  Call  upon  God.  Ask  for 
mercy.  That's  what  you  want.  Ask  him  to  have  mercy 
upon  you."  The  poor  wretch  could  not  lift  his  eyes 
towards  heaven.  He  knelt  down  on  the  pavement,  and 
all  he  could  say  was,  "  God  be  merciful  to  me,  a  vile 
wretch."  After  his  prayer  I  put  my  hand  through  the 
window  in  the  door.  He  got  hold  of  it  and  shook  it,  and 
a  hot  tear  fell  on  my  hand.  That  tear  seemed  to  burn 
into  my  very  soul.  I  said,  "  I  am  going  to  the  hotel  be- 
tween nine  and  twelve  o'clock.  I  want  you  to  join  in 
prayer,  and  make  up  your  mind  that  you  will  not  sleep  to- 
night till  you  know."  That  night  I  got  much  interested 
in  prayer  for  the  man.  My  heart  was  so  overborne  that 
I  could  not  go  back  to  Chicago  without  going  down  to 
the  prison  to  see  him.  I  went  down,  and  I  got  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  Tombs  to  let  me  in,  and  I  went  to  his  cell ; 
and  when  I  got  there  and  saw  him,  the  remorse  and  de- 
spair had  all  disappeared.  It  was  all  gone.  His  face  was 
lit  up  with  a  heavenly  glow.  He  seized  my  hand,  and 
tears  of  joy  began  to  flow.  He  pressed  my  hand  and 
shook  it,  and  said,  "  I  believe  I  am  the  happiest  man  in 
the  whole  city  of  New  York.  I  thought  when  they 
brought  me  to  this  prison  I  should  never  go  out  again. 
I  thought  I  never  could  walk  down  Broadway  again.  I 
thought  I  never  could  see  my  godly  mother  again.  Now 
I  thank  God  that  they  brought  me ;  for  if  they  had  not 
I  would  never  have  known  Christ."     He  said  when  he 


ANECDOTES,  8^ 

prayed  the  Lord  Jesus  heard  his  prayer.  I  asked  him 
what  time  of  the  night  he  thought  it  was  ;  and  he  said 
he  thought  it  was  about  midnight  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
came  into  that  cell  and  saved  his  soul.  My  dear  friend, 
can  you  tell  me  why  it  was  that  God  came  into  that 
prison,  and  passed  by  cell  after  cell,  and  set  that  one 
captive  free  t  It  was  because  he  took  his  place  as  a 
poor,  lost  sinner,  and  asked  for  mercy.  The  moment  X 
sinners  do  that  and  Cry  for  mercy  they  will  get  it. 


THE  BROKEN-HEARTED  MOTHER. 

COME  years  ago,  as  I  was  about  to  close  a  prayer- 
meeting,  a  young  man  got  up  and  urged  all  those 
men  present  that  had  not  yet  accepted  of  Christ,  to  do 
so  that  night.  And  in  closing  up  his  little  speech,  he 
said :  "  I  once  had  a  father  and,  mother  that  cared  more 
for  my  soul  than  for  anything  else.  At  last  my  father 
died;  and  when  my  father  was  dead  and  gone,  my 
mother  was  more  anxious  than  ever  for  me,  and  some- 
times she  would  come  and  put  her  loving  arms  around 
my  neck,  and  she  would  just  plead  with  me  to  go  to 
Christ.  She  used  to  tell  me,  after  my  father  was  dead, 
that  she  was  lonesome  without  having  me  a  Christian. 
I  told  her  I  sympathized  with  her ;  but  declared  I  wanted 
to  see  a  little  of  the  world.  I  did  not  want  to  become  a 
Christian  in  early  life.  Sometimes  I  would  wake  up 
past  midnight,  and  would  hear  a  voice  in  my  mother's 

chamber.    I  would  hear  that  godly  mother  crying  to  God 

8* 


90  ANECDOTES, 

for  salvation  on  her  boy.  I  was  her  only  child.  I  was 
very  dear  to  her.  At  last  I  felt  I  must  either  become  a 
Christian  or  go  away  from  that  mother's  influence  ;  and 
I  ran  away.  After  I  had  been  gone  a  long  time,  I  heard 
from  home  indirectly.  I  heard  my  mother  was  sick.  I 
knew  what  it  meant.  I  knew  that  she  was  pining  for  me. 
I  knew  her  heart  was  broken  on  account  of  me  and  my 
wayward  life.  I  thought  I  would  go  home  and  ask  my 
mother  to  forgive  me.  My  second  thought  was :  If  I 
did,  I  would  have  to  go  and  be  a  Christian.  I  could  not 
stay  under  the  same  roof  without  becoming  a  Christian. 
My  rebellious  heart  said :  '  I  will  not  go.'  When  I 
heard  again,  I  heard  my  mother  was  much  worse.  The 
thought  came  :  Supposing  my  mother  should  die.  Sup- 
posing I  should  never  see  that  mother  again.  I  never 
could  forgive  myself.  I  started  for  home.  .  There  was 
no  train  to  my  native  village.  I  took  the  coach.  I  got 
in  just  after  dark.  The  moon  was  shining.  I  had  to 
go  about  a  mile  and  a  half  to  my  mother's  house ;  and 
on  my  way  I  thought  I  would  go  by  the  village  grave- 
yard, and  I  thought  I  would  get  over  the  fence  and  go 
to  the  grave  where  my  father  was  buried,  to  see  if  there 
was  a  new-made  grave.  It  might  be  that  mother  was 
gone.  When  I  drew  near  that  grave,  my  heart  began  to 
beat  more  quickly,  as  by  the  light  of  the  moon  I  saw  the 
new-made  grave.  The  whole  story  was  told.  The  whole 
story  was  clear.  My  sainted  mother  was  gone.  It  was 
a  fresh-made  grave.  It  had  just  been  dug.  For  the  first 
time  in  my  life  this  question  came  stealing  over  me : 


ANECDOTES,  91 

Who  was  going  to  pray  for  my  lost  soul  now  ?  Father 
and  mother  bo'h  gone  now.  And,  young  men,  I  would 
have  given  the  world  if  I  could  have  called  that  mother 
back  and  have  her  put  her  arms  around  my  neck  and 
heard  her  breathe  my  name  in  prayer.  But  her  voice 
was  silent  for  ever.  She  was  gone.  I  knelt  beside  that 
grave,  crying  that  God  might  have  mercy  on  me,  and 
that  God  would  forgive  me.  And  I  did  not  leave  that 
grave  all  night  until  the  morning  dawn.  But  before 
morning  I  believed  that  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  had  for- 
given my  sins,  and  that  my  mother's  God  had  become 
my  God.  But,  young  men,  I  would  never  forgive  myself. 
I  never  can.  I  killed  that  mother.  I  trampled  her 
prayers  and  her  entreaties  under  my  feet.  I  broke  her 
heart  and  sent  her  to  her  grave.  Young  man,  if  you 
have  a  godly  mother,  treat  her  kindly." 


THE  CONVERTED  DRUNKARD. 

A  YOUNG  man  got  up  in  our  meeting  a  few  years  . 
^^  ago,  and  said  that  before  his  conversion,  he  had 
been  a  drunkard,  and  that  while  he  was  under  the 
influence  of  drink,  his  young  wife  would  take  her  little 
child  and  go  off  into  the  cold  room  from  fear  that  he 
would  beat  and  strike  her.  He  took  the  warm,  comfort- 
able room,  and  turned  her  out  into  the  cold  room.  "  But," 
he  said,  "  she  do  n't  leave  the  room  now.  She  is  glad  to 
see  me  now."  There  is  joy  in  their  home.  The  leprosy 
of  drunkenness  is  gone. 


92  ANECDOTES. 

THE  DRUNKARD'S  SON 

T  REMEMBER  some  time  ago  a  little  boy  that  be- 
came  a  Christian.  His  father  was  a  drunken  infidel. 
His  father  was  opposed  to  the  boy's  praying  in  the  house. 
Some  one  had  brought  the  boy  to  the  Sabbath-school, 
and  he  had  found  Christ.  He  had  got  a  new  heart.  His 
father  had  found  him  praying  on  his  knees.  The  father 
got  very  angry.  He  took  him  off  his  knees  and  wanted 
to  know  what  he  was  doing.  He  said  he  was  praying 
that  God  would  make  him  a  new  boy.  The  father  said : 
*'  I  don't  want  to  hear  any  more  of  that.  I  suppose  some 
of  those  Christians  have  been  trying  to  teach  you  these 
things."  The  old  man  did  everything  he  could  to  keep 
the  child  at  home  and  to  keep  him  from  praying.  But 
one  night  the  father  caught  him  again  praying  on  his 
knees.  The  father  was  very  angry,  and  told  him  if  he 
caught  him  praying  again  he  would  make  him  leave  the 
house.  The  father  was  very  much  in  earnest.  He  said, 
,  also,  if  he  ever  caught  him  opening  his  lips  in  prayer  he 
was  to  leave  his  house.  That  seemed  a  strange  thing  to 
me.  I  did  not  believe  there  was  any  one  so  wicked  that 
they  did  not  want  to  hear  prayer  in  their  homes.  It  was 
not  long  before  the  lad  was  found  praying  again.  The 
father  heard  the  boy,  and  it  seemed  the  very  fires  of  hell 
were  burning  in  his  bosom.  He  went  into  that  room, 
and  he  took  hold  of  his  boy  with  a  curse,  and  gave  him 
a  push,  and  used  language  too  bad  to  utter,  and  told  him 
to  leave  the  house,  with  all  his  things.    He  did  not  have 


ANECDOTES.  93 

many  things  to  take  away.  Drunkards'  children  do  n't 
have  many  things.  He  took  his  little  bundle  and  started. 
He  went  down  to  the  kitchen,  where  his  mother  was. 
He  walked  up  to  her  and  said :  "  Good-by,  mother." 
The  mother  said  :  "  My  boy,  where  are  you  g6ing  ?"  He 
replied  :  "  I  do  n't  know."  "  What  do  you  mean  by  bid- 
ding me  good-by .?"  "  Father  says  I  cannot  stay  at 
home  any  longer,  because  I  have  been  praying,"  The 
mother  knew  it  would  do  no  good  to  remonstrate.  She 
took  the  little  boy  to  her  bosom,  she  hugged  him  and 
kissed  him ;  she  did  not  know  when  she  would  see  him 
again.  He  went  to  his  little  brother,  and  kissed  him, 
and  bid  him  good-by ;  then  he  went  to  his  little  sister 
and  kissed  her;  then  he  left  the  house.  He  bid  his 
father  good-by,  and  told  him  that  as  long  as  he  lived  he 
would  pray  for  him.  The  boy  had  not  gone  a  great  way 
before  the  father's  heart  was  touched.  The  Holy  Spirit 
had  touched  the  father's  heart.  He  ran  down  the  street 
after  the  boy.  He  said  :  "  My  dear  son,  if  religion  will 
do  this  for  you — if  it  will  drive  you  from  father,  and 
mother,  and  from  home — I  want  it."  And  the  little  boy 
had  the  privilege  of  kneeling  with  the  father  and  pray- 
ing to  God  to  convert  him.     And  that  little  boy  led  his 

father  to  Christ. 

» — 

THE  GOOD  MOTHER. 

'   A    YOUNG  man  went  home  from  one  of  our  meetings 

some  time  ago.     He  had  been  converted.     He  had 

previously  been  a  dissipated  young  man.     His  mother 


94  ANECDOTIiS. 

had  made  it  a  rule,  she  told  me,  that  she  "would  not  re- 
tire till  he  came  home."  That  was  her  rule,  she  said, 
"  never  to  go  to  bed  till  my  boy  was  at  home.  If  he  did 
not  come  till  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  I  sat  up,  and 
when  he  was  out  all  night  I  got  no  sleep ;  but  when  he 
came  home  I  always  met  him  with  a  kiss.  I  threw  my 
arms  around  his  neck.  I  treated  him  just  as  if  he  was 
kind,  attentive,  and  good.  Sometimes  he  would  be  out 
all  night.  Those  nights  I  would  not  go  to  bed.  He  used 
to  know  it.  One  night  he  came  home.  I  looked  to  see 
if  he  was  under  the  influence  of  liquor.  He  came  up  to 
me,  and  he  said,  '  Mother,  I  have  been  converted,'  and 
then  I  fell  on  his  neck  and  embraced  him,  and  wept  over 
him  tears  of  joy.  Why,"  said  she,  "  Mr.  Moody,  you  do  n't 
know  what  joy  it  gave  me.  I  cannot  tell  you.  You 
do  n't  know  what  a  load  it  took  off  my  heart.  You  do  n't 
know  how  I  praised  God  that  my  prayers  had  been  an- 
swered." 

MOTHER  AND  DAUGHTER. 

"D  IGHT  down  here  last  Sunday  afternoon  sat  a  mother 
and  her  daughter.  At  the  close  of  the  meeting  her 
daughter  said,  "  Mother,  I  want  to  go  into  that  inquiry- 
room.  Will  you  go  in  with  me  .^"  The  mother  was  not  a 
Christian.  She  said,  "  No,  no.  I  will  not  go.  You  go." 
The  daughter  said,  "  No,  not  without  you."  The  mother 
began  to  think,  "  Shall  I  stand  in  the  way  of  my  child  V 
She  arose  and  went  into  the  inquiry-room  with  her 
daughter.     The  next  day  she  came  to  me,     I  was  talk- 


ANECDOTES.  95. 

ing  with  her.  She  told  me  how  she  was  brought  under 
conviction.  She  said  the  sermon  made  no  impression. 
She  had  no  feeling  about  the  matter  until  the  daughter 
said,  "  Mother,  will  you  go  into  that  inquiry-room  T  I 
asked  her  where  her  daughter  was,  and  she  pointed  her 
out.  A  friend  was  talking  with  the  daughter.  At  last 
the  mother  received  Christ,  and  I  went  over  to  the 
daughter  and  talked  with  her.  I  found  she  had  received 
Christ.  She  went  up  and  told  her  mother.  What  a 
meeting  it  was !  They  embraced  each  other  ;  they  wept 
together ;  they  kissed  each  other.  Thank  God  !  to-night 
they  are  both  in  the  fold. 


THE  ''MOODY  AND  SANKEY  HUMBUG:' 

'T^HERE  was  a  man,  while  we  were  in  London,  who 
got  out  a  little  paper  called  "  The  Moody  and  San- 
key  Humbug."  He  used  to  have  it  to  sell  to  the  people 
coming  into  the  meeting.  After  he  had  sold  a  great 
many  thousand  copies  of  that  number,  he  wanted  to  get 
out  another  number ;  so  he  came  into  the  meeting  to  get 
something  to  put  into  the  paper ;  but  the  power  of  the 
Lord  was  present.  It  says  here  in  this  chapter  (Luke  5) 
that  the  Pharisees,  scribes,  and  doctors,  were  watching 
the  words  of  Christ  in  that  house  in  Capernaum,  and 
that  the  power  of  the  Lord  was  present  to  heal.  It  do  n't 
say  they  were  healed.  They  did  not  come  to  be  healed. 
If  they  had,  they  would  have  been  healed.  But  some- 
times there  is  a  prayer  of  faith  going  up  to  God  from 


-^>'  Of  XH« 


96  ANECDOTES, 

some  one  that  brings  down  blessings.  And  so  this  man 
came  into  that  meeting.  The  power  of  the  Lord  was 
present,  and  the  arrow  of  conviction  went  down  deep 
into  his  heart.  He  went  out,  not  to  write  a  paper,  but 
to  destroy  his  paper  that  he  had  written,  and  so  tell  what 
the  Holy  Ghost  had  done  for  him.  I  hope  there  will  be 
some  men  reached  here  to-night  in  the  same  way. 


&P^ 


ANECDOTES,  97 


II.  THE  BIBLE 

MR.  MOODY'S  BIBLE. 

A  WELL-MARKED  Bible  testifies  of  individual  his- 
^^  tory,  and  growth  in  grace  and  knowledge.  Mr. 
Moody's  Bible  is  a  most  interesting  book.  It  was  given 
him  by  a  friend,  and  bears  on  the  fly-leaf  the  words  : 
"  D.  L.  Moody,  Dublin,  December,  1872.  *God  is  Love.* 
W.  Fay."  The  Bible  is  an  8vo  volume,  with  flexible 
black  morocco  covers  and  turned  edges.  Though  given 
Mr.  Moody  in  the  last  month  of  1872,  it  appears  as  if  it 
might  have  seen  ten  years'  service.  Some  of  the  leaves 
are  worn  through  with  handling ;  but  nearly  every  page 
gives  another  and  more  positive  proof  of  the  study  Mr. 
Moody  has  given  the  book.  In  the  Old  Testament  many 
portions  are  annotated  on  nearly  every  page.  Especially 
is  this  true  of  those  parts  treating  of  the  history  of  the 
Israelites,  the  chosen  people  of  God.  But  in  the  New 
Testament,  open  the  book  wherever  one  may,  the  pages 
are  marked  and  annotated  in  black,  red,  and  blue  ink  to 
a  wonderful  extent.  Sometimes  certain  words  are  under- 
scored ;  again,  a  whole  verse  is  closed  in  black  lines,  with 
mysterious  numbers  or  a  single  letter  of  the  alphabet 
marked  opposite.  All  around  the  margins  and  at  the 
chapter-heads  are  comments  on  certain  passages — an 
idea  embodied  in  two  or  three  words,  and  the  more  im- 

9 


98  ANECDOTES. 

portant  word  underscored.  Turning  to  the  texts  of  the 
various  sermons  Mr.  Moody  has  preached,  one  finds  the 
burden  of  his  themes  often  embodied  in  one  of  those 
marginal  notes.  There  is  scarcely  a  page  in  the  New 
Testament  where  a  dozen  such  annotations  could  not  be 
counted  ;  while  in  some  instances  every  space  in  the 
margin  is  filled,  and  hardly  a  sentence  has  escaped  the 
evangelist's  pen. 

MR.  MOODY  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

A  LL  the  men  who  have  been  very  much  used  of  God 
have  been  well  versed  in  the  Scriptures.  Moses 
rehearsed  God's  dealings  with  the  children  of  Israel; 
Peter  told  it  out  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  Stephen 
did  the  same.  Christ  conquered  Satan  by  the  sword  of 
the  Word. 

"  How  am  I  to  know  the  Word  of  God  .?"  By  study- 
ing it  with  the  help  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  As  an  Ameri- 
can bishop  said,  not  with  the  blue  light  of  Presbyterian- 
ism,  nor  the  red  light  of  Methodism,  nor  the  violet  light 
of  Episcopacy,  but  with  the  clear  light  of  Calvary.  We 
must  study  it  on  our  knees,  in  a  teachable  spirit.  If  we 
know  our  Bible,  Satan  will  not  have  much  power  over  us, 
and  we  will  have  the  world  under  our  feet. 

I  think  I  have  got  the  key  to  the  study  of  the  Bible  : 
take  it  up  topically.  Take  "Love,"  for  instance,  and 
spend  a  month  studying  what  the  Bible  says  about  love, 
from  Genesis  to  Revelation.  Then  you  will  love  every- 
body, whether  they  love  you  or  not.     In  the  same  way 


ANECDOTES.  99 

take  up  "  Grace,"  "  Faith,"  "  Assurance,"  "  Heaven,"  and 
so  on.  When  you  read  the  Bible,  be  sure  you  Jmnt  for 
something. 

Spend  six  months  studying  Genesis ;  it  is  the  key  to 
the  whole  book;  it  speaks  of  death,  resurrection,  judg- 
ment— it  is  the  seed-plant  of  the  whole  Bible.  Read  the 
same  chapter  over  and  over  and  over  again,  and  do  n't 
leave  it  till  you  have  understood  it.  About  the  twenty- 
eighth  time  you  have  read  a  chapter  you  will  see  the 
Man  Christ  Jesus,  who  is  on  every  page  of  Scripture. 

Here  is  another  way :  take  up  one  woi^d  in  a  book, 
such  as  the  word  "  believes,"  of  St.  John's  gospel.  Every 
chapter  but  two  speaks  of  believing.  Look  up  the  nine- 
teen "personal  interviews"  with  Christ  recorded  in  that 
gospel.  Take  the  "conversions"  of  the  Bible.  Take  the 
seven  "blesseds  "  and  the  seven  "overcomes"  of  Revela- 
tion. If  you  want  to  get  the  best  book  on  "assurance," 
read  i  John  3  and  the  six  things  there  worth  "  knowing." 
Take  up  the  five  "precious  things  "  of  Peter,  or  the  "ver- 

ilys  "  of  John. 

♦  ■  ■ 

BIBLES  NEGLECTED. 
A  GREAT  many  fail  in  their  work  for  God  because 
they  neglect  their  Bibles.  You  must  get  something 
into  a  man  before  you  can  get  anything  out  of  him.  You 
may  put  the  pump  into  the  well,  and  pump  as  long  as 
you  like ;  but  if  there  is  no  water,  it  is  no  use  pumping. 
Search  the  Scriptures,  and  when  you  get  something  good 
pass  it  around. 


100  ANECDOTES, 

AN  ENGLISHMAN  ON  JOB. 

A  N  Englishman  said  to  me :  "  Moody,  did  you  ever 
-^  study  the  life  of  Job  ?"  I  said,  "  No,  I  never  did." 
He  said,  "  If  you  get  a  key  to  Job,  you  get  a  key  to  the 
whole  Bible."  "  What  has  Job  to  do  with  the  Bible  ?" 
He  said,  "I  will  tell  you.  I  will  divide  the  subject  into 
five  heads.  First,  Job,  before  he  was  tried,  was  a  perfect 
man  untried.  He  was  like  Adam  in  Eden  until  Satan 
came  in.  Second,  he  was  tried  by  adversity.  Third,  the 
wisdom  of  the  world  is  represented  by  Job's  friends  try- 
ing to  restore  him.  See  what  language  they  used.  They 
were  wonderful  wise  men,  but  they  could  not  help  Job 
out  of  his  difficulties.  Men  are  miserable  comforters 
when  they  do  not  understand  the  grace  of  God.  Job 
could  stand  his  scolding  wife  and  his  boils  better  than 
these  men's  arguments  ;  they  made  him  worse  instead  of 
better.  Fourth,  God  speaks,  and  Job  humbles  himself  in 
the  dust.  God,  before  he  saves  a  man,  brings  him  down 
into  the  dust.  Job  does  not  talk  about  how  he  has  fed 
the  hungry  and  clothed  the  naked  ;  but  he  says,  '  I  am 
vile.*  Fifth,  God  restores  him,  and  the  last  end  of  Job 
was  better  than  the  first.  So  the  last  state  of  man  is 
better  than  the  first.  It  is  better  than  the  state  of  Adam, 
because  Adam  might  have  lived  ten  thousand  years  and 
then  fallen  ;  therefore  it  is  better  for  us  to  be  outside 
of  Eden  with  Christ,  than  that  we  should  be  in  Eden 
without  him.  God  gave  Job  double  as  much  wealth  as 
he  had  before,  but  he  only  gave  him  ten  children.     He 


ANECDOTES.  loi 

had  ten  before  his  calamity  came  upon  him.  That  is 
worthy  of  notice.  God  would  not  admit  that  Job  had 
lost  any  children.  He  gave  him  ten  here  and  ten  in 
heaven." 


THE  RIGHT  TRANSLATION. 

'T^HERE  was  a  wild  and  prodigal  young  man  who 
came  into  one  of  our  meetings,  who  was  running  a 
headlong  career  to  ruin.  But  the  Spirit  of  God  got  hold 
of  him.  While  I  was  conversing  with  him,  and  endeav- 
oring to  bring  him  to  Christ,  I  quoted  John  6  :  37  to  him. 
I  held  it  right  up  to  him,  and  led  his  mind  right  up  to  it, 
for  some  time ;  and  at  last  light  seemed  to  break  in  upon 
him,  and  he  seemed  to  find  comfort  from  it,  and  I  told 
him  to  stick  to  that  verse.  Well,  after  he  had  left,  on  his 
way  home  the  devil  met  him.  Why,  I  do  n't  believe  that 
any  man  ever  starts  to  go  to  Christ  but  the  devil  strives 
somehow  or  other  to  meet  him  and  trip  him  up.  And 
even  after  he  has  come  to  Christ,  the  devil  comes  and  tries 
to  assail  him  with  doubts,  and  make  him  believe  there  is 
something  wrong  in  it.  And  so  this  young  man  was  met 
by  Satan,  and  Satan  whispered  to  him,  "  How  do  you 
know  that 's  a  right  translation  .'*"  So  that  brought  him 
for  awhile  to  a  standstill,  and  threw  him  into  darkness 
again.  But  he  remembered  my  telling  him  to  stick  to 
that  text,  and  there  he  was,  after  Satan  had  put  that  into 
his  mind,  holding  on  to  it,  but  he  did  not  find  peace  till 
two  o'clock.     He  then  said  to  himself,  "  I  will  stick  to  it 

9* 


,o2  ANECDOTES. 

anyhow,  and  if  it  is  not  the  right  translation,  when  I  get 
to  the  bar  of  God  I  will  tell  him  I  did  not  know  it  was 
wrong,  because  I  did  n't  understand  anything  about  Greek 
and  Latin."  "  Him  that  cometh  unto  me,  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out." 


THE  SKEPTICS  SILENCED, 

A  COUPLE  of  commercial  travellers  went  to  hear  a 
^^  minister  preach.  He  explained  that  men  do  n't  find 
out  God  ;  that  it  is  God  who  has  to  reveal  his  nature  to 
man  ;  that  it  is  all  a  matter  of  revelation  ;  that  God  re- 
veals Christ  to  man.  When  they  went  back  to  the  hotel 
they  began  to  talk  the  matter  over,  and  both  maintained 
that  they  could  not  believe  anything  except  they  could 
reason  it  out.  An  old  man  there  heard  the  conversa- 
tion, and  remarked,  "  I  heard  you  say  you  could  not  be- 
lieve anything  except  you  could  reason  it  out.  Now, 
when  I  was  coming  down  on  the  train,  I  noticed  in  the 
fields  some  geese  and  sheep  and  swine  and  cattle  eating 
grass.  Can  you  tell  me  by  what  process  that  grass  is 
turned  into  hair  and  bristles  and  feathers  and  wool?" 
They  could  not.  "  Well,  do  you  believe  it  is  a  fact  ?" 
"  Oh  yes,  we  can't  help  but  believe  that."  "  Well,  then, 
I  can't  help  but  believe  in  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ. 
I  have  seen  men  who  have  been  reclaimed  and  reformed 
through  it,  and  who  are  now  living  happy,  when  before 
they  were  outcasts  from  society."  The  two  commercial 
men  were  silenced  by  that  old  man's  outspoken  faith. 


ANECDOTES,  103 

WHAT  ENGLAND  OWES  TO  THE  BIBLE. 
T  1  rHY,  these  infidels  that  want  to  take  away  the  Bible 

from  us,  what  are  they  going  to  give  us  in  its 
place  ?  What  has  made  England  but  the  Word  of  God  ? 
I  heard  a  most  eloquent  man  in  America,  a  few  years 
ago  say,  "  You  look  back  in  history  a  few  years  ago,  and 
you  see  England  and  France  moving  along  abreast  in  the 
march  of  nations.  France  closed  the  Bible  and  would 
not  give  it  to  its  people.  England  opened  the  Bible,  and 
what  is  the  result  ?  Why,  the  English  language  is  spo- 
ken round  the  world,  and  the  sun  never  sets  upon  the 
Queen's  dominions."  And  look  and  see  how  the  Eng- 
lish language  has  gone  round  the  world.  See  what  the 
Bible  has  done  for  England,  and  look  and  see  what  has 
become  of  France.  Poor  France  closed  its  Bible,  and  it 
has  gone  down,  and  every  nation  that  puts  down  the 
Bible  has  to  go  down,  and  every  nation  that  exalts  the 
Bible  and  lifts  it  up,  God  lifts  it  up  and  blesses  them. 
Oh,  my  friends,  let  us  cling  close  to  the  Bible. 


104  ANECDOTES. 


Ill .— ILLUSTP^ATIOMS  Of  3CP^IPTUF(y\L 
THEOLOQY. 


I.  HUMAN  DEPRAVITY. 
"  All  have  sinned  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God."     RoM.  3  :  23. 

NOAH  AND  THE  ANTEDILUVIANS. 
TV  TOW  the  Antediluvians  would  not  believe  Noah. 
"  What !  Do  you  mean  to  tell  us  that  there  is  a 
deluge  coming,  and  that  we  shall  all  perish  alike  }  States- 
men, great  and  mighty  men  and  rulers,  rich  and  poor,  all 
perish  alike  .'*"  "  Yes,  every  one  of  you  that  is  not  in 
the  ark  when  the  flood  comes  will  perish."  Did  they 
believe }  No,  on  the  contrary.  The  Son  of  God  tells 
us  that  when  the  flood  came  it  swept  tJiem  all  away. 
And  so  it  was  even  in  his  days.  On  one  side  of  the 
cross  of  Christ  was  the  thief,  penitent  and  believing,  and 
on  the  other  the  unbelieving  thief.  You  see  many  dif- 
ferent classes  of  people  may  come  together ;  there  will 
be  the  educated  and  the  ignorant ;  the  churchman  and 
the  nonconformist  minister;  Sabbath-school  teachers  and 
Sabbath-school  scholars.  But  arrange  them  as  you  will, 
God  sees  them  all ;  God  draws  the  line  between  them. 
And  God  has  drawn  the  line  between  two  classes  here 
to-night,  believers  and  unbelievers,  those  who  have  been 
saved  from  under  the  curse  of  the  law,  and  those  who 
remain  guilty.    The  verdict  is  given  against  you — Guilty. 


ANECDOTES.  105 

And  why  ?     Because  all  have  sinned  and  come  short  of 
the  glory  of  God. 

RESPECTABLE  SINNERS. 

'T^HERE  is  a  woman  in  our  country  who  was  hoping 
to  be  saved,  because  she  thought  she  was  a  respect- 
able sinner.  Some  sinners  don't  think  they  are  like 
other  sinners.  When  people  talk  to  me  in  this  strain,  I 
know  they  are  great  sinners.  She  heard  a  sermon,  which 
showed  her  clearly  that  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly ;  and 
she  said,  "  I  must  be  ungodly ;  he  died  for  the  ungodly  :" 
she  awoke  to  the  fact  that  she  was  unlike  God,  and  the 
light  of  eternity  flashed  into  her  soul.  My  friends,  take 
your  place  among  the  ungodly.  I  am  tired  of  people 
making  out  that  they  are  not  bad  sinners — whereas  they 
are  bad  from  the  crown  of  the  head  to  the  sole  of  the 
foot.  They  are  bad,  and  God  says  it :  and  let  God  be 
true  and  every  man  a  liar. 


SHORT  OF  THE  STANDARD. 

TN  Chicago,  when  our  constitution  was  young,  a  bill 
was  passed  that  no  man  should  be  a  policeman  that 
was  not  a  certain  height — five  feet  six.  The  commission- 
ers advertised  for  men  to  come  round  and  be  examined, 
and  they  must  bring  good  letters  of  recommendation  with 
them.  Now  as  they  are  passing  from  one  man  to 
another,  examining  their  letters,  and  trying  their  height, 
suppose  there  are  two  of  us  want  to  get  in,  and  I  say  to 


io6  ANECDOTES. 

my  friend,  '*  There  is  no  man  has  a  better  chance  than  I 
have;  I  have  got  letters  from  the  supreme  judge,  from 
the  mayor  and  leading  citizens  of  Chicago ;  no  man  can 
have  better  letters."  He  says,  "  Ah,  my  friend,  my  letters 
are  as  good  as  yours."  Well,  the  chief  commissioner 
says,  "  Look  here.  Moody,  these  letters  are  all  right,  but 
you  must  be  up  to  the  standard;"  so  he  measures  me, 
and  I  am  only  five  feet,  and  he  says,  "  Vou  are  half  a  foot 
too  short."  My  friend  looks  down  on  me  and  says,  "  I 
have  got  a  better  chance  than  you."  Well,  he  stands  .up 
and  is  measured,  and  is  only  one-tenth  of  an  inch  short, 
but  he  goes  with  me.  He  has  come  short.  I  admit 
some  men  have  come  shorter  than  others,  but  that  is  the 
verdict  God  has  brought  in — all  are  guilty. 


THE  LAW  IS  GOD'S  LOOKING-GLASS, 

T'\ROPPED  down  into  this  world  that  man  might 
look  in  it,  and  find  how  vile  he  is  before  a  holy  and 
perfect  God.  My  little  boy  asked  me  one  day  to  take 
him  for  a  drive  in  the  Park.  I  asked  him  if  he  could 
drive,  and  he  said,  oh  yes,  he  could  drive;  so  at  last, 
after  some  time,  his  mother  had  got  him  ready ;  but, 
before  I  was  ready  to  start,  he  contrived  to  fall  in  the 
mud,  and  get  himself  all  covered  with  dirt.  Well,  when 
I  got  up  the  little  fellow  came  alongside,  and  wanted  me 
to  lift  him  up  into  the  chaise.  "  Oh  no,"  I  said  ;  "  why, 
you  are  covered  with  dirt."  "Oh  no,  papa!  mamma's 
washed  me."     "  No,  you  are  covered  with  dirt."     But  I 


ANECDOTES.  107 

couldn't  make  it  clear  to  him,  and  the  tears  ran  down 
the  little  fellow's  face,  and  he  told  me  again  :  "  No,  papa, 
mamma's  washed  me."  So  I  just  hitched  up  the  horse, 
and  took  him  and  showed  him  his  face  in  the  looking- 
glass,  and  he  did  n't  say  then  that  he  was  not  dirty.  But, 
I  did  n't  take  him  to  the  looking-glass  to  wash  his  face  ; 
I  took  him  there  that  he  might  see  it.  And  so  God's 
law  shows  us  our  real  state.  But,  my  friends,  you  must 
stop  trying  to  save  yourself  by  the  law.  The  law  con- 
demns every  soul.  Just  as  grace  will  save  every  soul 
tliat  will  come  and  partake  of  it. 


A  DUBLIN  DOOR  AND  THE  SINNER'S  HEART. 

"X  1  rHEN  we  were  in  Dublin,  I  went  out  one  morning 
to  an  early  meeting,  and  I  found  the  servants  had 
not  opened  the  front  door.  So  I  pulled  back  a  bolt, 
but  I  could  not  get  the  door  open.  Then  I  turned  a 
key,  but  the  door  would  not  open.  Then  I  found  there 
was  another  bolt  at  the  top,  then  I  found  there  was 
another  bolt  at  the  bottom.  Still  the  door  would  not 
open.  Then  I  found  there  was  a  bar,  and  then  I  found 
a  night-lock.  I  found  there  were  five  or  six  different 
fastenings.  I  am  afraid  that  door  represents  every 
sinner's  heart.  The  door  of  his  heart  is  double-locked, 
double-bolted,  and  double- barred.  Oh,  my  friends,  pull 
back  the  bolts  and  let  the  King  of  Glory  in. 


io8  ANECDOTES. 

THE  ARTIST  AND  THE  BEGGAR. 

O  OME  time  ago  an  artist  wanted  to  find  a  man  that 
would  represent  the  prodigal.  One  day,  walking 
up  the  streets,  he  met  a  poor  beggar,  and  the  thought 
occurred  to  him  :  "  That  man  would  represent  the  prodi- 
gal." He  told  him  what  he  wanted,  and  found  the 
beggar  was  ready  to  come  to  his  place  of  business  and 
sit  for  his  painting,  if  he  would  pay  him  for  his  time. 
The  man  appeared  on  the  day  appointed,  but  the  artist 
did  not  recognize  him.  He  said :  *'  You  made  an  ap- 
pointment with  me."  "  No,"  says  the  artist ;  "  I  never 
saw  you  before."  "  You  are  mistaken  ;  you  did  see  me, 
and  made  an  appointment  with  me."  "  No  ;  it  must  be 
some  other  artist.  I  have  an  appointment  to  meet  a 
beggar  here  at  this  hour."  "  Well,"  says  the  beggar,  **  I 
am  the  man."  "  You  the  man  !"  "  Yes."  "  What  have 
you  been  doing  T'  "  Well,  I  thought  I  would  get  a  new 
suit  of  clothes  before  I  got  painted."  *'  Well,"  said  the 
artist,  "  I  do  n't  want  you  ;"  he  would  not  have  him  then. 
And  so,  if  you  are  coming  to  God^  come  just  as  you  are. 


PASSING  PARDON  TO  THE  NEXT  MAN. 

T  WAS  in  Ohio  a  few  years  ago,  and  was  invited  to 
preach  in  the  stateprison.  Eleven  hundred  convicts 
were  brought  into  the  chapel,  and  all  sat  in  front  of  me. 
After  I  had  got  through  the  preaching,  the  chaplain  said 
to  me :  "  Moody,  I  want  to  tell  you  of  a  scene  which 


ANECDOTES.  109 

occurred  In  this  room.  A  few  years  ago,  our  commis- 
sioners went  to  the  governor  of  the  state,  and  got  him 
to  promise  that  he  would  pardon  five  men  for  good 
behavior.  The  governor  consented,  with  this  under- 
standing, that  the  record  was  to  be  kept  in  secret,  and 
that  at  the  end  of  six  months  the  five  men  highest  on 
the  roll  should  receive  a  pardon,  regardless  who  and 
what  they  were ;  if  they  were  there  for  life  they  should 
receive  a  pardon.  At  the  end  of  six  months  the  prisoners 
were  all  brought  into  the  same  chapel  where  I  had  been 
preaching ;  and  the  commissioners  came  up,  and  the 
president  of  the  commissioners  stood  up  on  the  platform 
and  put  his  hand  into  his  pocket,  and  brought  out  some 
papers,  and  said :  "■  I  hold  in  my  hand  pardons  for  five 
men."  And  the  chaplain  told  me  he  never  witnessed 
anything  on  earth  like  it.  Every  man  was  as  still  as 
death ;  many  were  deadly  pale,  and  the  suspense  was 
something  awful.  The  commissioner  went  on  to  tell 
them  how  they  had  got  the  pardon ;  but  the  chaplain 
said  to  the  commissioner :  "  Before  you  make  your  speech, 
read  out  the  names.  This  suspense  is  awful."  So  he 
read  out  the  first  name  :  "  Reuben  Johnson  will  come 
and  get  his  pardon ;"  and  he  held  it  out,  but  none  came 
forward.  He  said  to  the  governor:  "Are  all  the  pris- 
oners here  .'*"  The  governor  told  him  they  were  all  there. 
Then  he  said  again :  *'  Reuben  Johnson  will  come  and 
get  his  pardon.  It  is  signed  and  sealed  by  the  governor. 
He  is  a  free  man."  The  chaplain  told  me  he  looked 
right  down  where  Reuben  was,  and  he  was  looking  all 

10 


no  •  ANECDOTES. 

round  to  see  the  fortunate  man  who  had  got  his  pardon. 
Finally  the  chaplain  caught  his  eye,  and  he  said : 
**  Reuben,  you  are  the  man."  Reuben  turned  round  and 
looked  behind  him  to  see  where  Reuben  was.  The 
chaplain  said  the  second  time :  "  Reuben  you  are  the 
man  ;"  and  the  second  time  he  looked  round,  thinking 
it  must  he  some  other  Reuben.  Now,  men  do  not  be- 
lieve the  Gospel  is  for  them.  They  think  it  is  too  good, 
and  pass  it  over  their  shoulders  to  the  next  man. 


THE  DEACON'S  WARNING. 

A  YOUNG  man  met  the  deacon  of  a  church  one 
"^^  Sabbath  morning  and  asked  him  the  terrible  ques- 
tion ;  "  How  far  is  it  to  hell  .'*"  "  Young  man,"  was  the 
reply,  "  do  n't  mock  such  a  serious  reality,  you  may  be 
nearer  to  hell  than  you  think."  They  had  only  just 
turned  the  corner  of  the  road,  and  ridden  a  few  yards, 
when  his  horse  threw  him,  and  he  was  picked  up  dead. 


REFUSING  RELIGION. 

A  FEW  years  ago,  before  I  had  left  the  farm,  I  was 
talking  one  day  to  a  man  who  was  working  there, 
and  who  was  weeping.  I  said  to  him :  "  What  is  the 
trouble  T  And  he  told  me  a  very  strange  story.  When 
he  started  out  in  life  he  left  his  native  village,  and  went 
to  another  town  to  find  something  to  do,  and  he  said  he 
was  unsuccessful.  The  first  Sabbath  he  went  to  a  little 
church,  and  there  the  minister  preached  from  this  text : 


ANECDOTES,  iii 

*'  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God ;"  and  he  said  that 
he  thought  the  text  and  the  sermon  were  for  himself. 
The  sermon  made  a  deep  hnpression  upon  him,  and  he 
could  not  forget  it  for  some  days.  But  he  said  he  did 
not  want  to  become  a  Christian  then.  He  wanted  to  get 
rich,  and  when  he  was  settled  in  life  he  would  seek  the 
kingdom  of  God.  He  went  on,  and  the  next  Sabbath  he 
was  in  another  village,  and  he  went  to  church  again,  and 
he  made  a  point  of  going  to  church  every  Sunday  morn- 
ing. It  was  not  long  before  he  heard  another  minister 
preach  from  the  same  text,  "  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom 
of  God."  He  thought  surely  some  one  must  have  been 
speaking  to  the  minister  about  him,  for  the  minister  just 
pictured  him  out.  But  he  said  he  would  not  seek  the 
kingdom  of  God  then ;  but  when  he  got  settled  in  life, 
and  had  control  of  his  time,  and  was  his  own  master,  he 
would  then  seek  the  kingdom  of  God.  Some  time  after 
he  was  at  another  village,  and  he  went  to  church  again  ; 
but  he  had  not  been  there  a  great  while  when  he  heard 
the  third  minister  preach  from  the  same  text :  "  Seek  ye 
first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  his  righteousness;  and 
all  these  things  shall  be  added."  He  said  it  went  right 
down  into  his  soul ;  but  he  calmly  and  deliberately  made 
up  his  mind  that  he  would  not  become  a  Christian,  that 
he  would  not  seek  the  kingdom  of  God  until  he  had  got 
settled  in  life,  and  owned  a  farm,  and  that  then  he  would 
attend  to  the  salvation  of  his  soul.  Many  a  man  thinks v  | 
he  can't  make  money  if  he  becomes  a  Christian.  How  p 
the  devil  deceives  you !     This  man  said :  "  Now  I  -lxw 


112  ANECDOTES, 

what  the  world  calls  rich,  and  go  to  church  every  Sun- 
day ;  but  I  have  never  heard  a  sermon  from  that  day  to 
this  which  has  ever  made  any  impression  upon  my  heart. 
My  heart  is  as  hard  as  a  stone,"  As  he  said  this,  tears 
trickled  down  his  cheeks.  I  was  a  young  man  at  that 
time,  and  did  not  know  what  it  meant. 


A  HEART-BREAKING  LETTER. 
T  GOT  a  letter  the  other  day  that  made  me  weep,  which 
I  will  read :  "  Mr.  Moody :  Having  with  great  difficulty 
prevailed  on  my  husband  to  come  and  hear  you  this  eve- 
ning, and  two  other  unconverted  friends,  I  ask  you  as  a 
favor  to  repeat  what  you  did  this  afternoon  about  that 
little  praying  boy  and  his  words  to  his  father,  as  I  have 
lost  seven  dear  Utile  children.  The  eldest  boy  was  a 
thorough  Christian,  and  died  rejoicing  in  God  his  Saviour. 
On  the  last  Sabbath  before  he  died,  he  called  his  father 
to  his  bedside,  and  told  him  he  was  dying  and  going  to 
his  heavenly  Father,  and  he  had  prayed  to  him  for  his 
earthly  father ;  and  unless  he  left  off  swearing  and  sing- 
ing foolish  songs,  and  driving  out  on  Sundays,  where  he 
was  going  he  could  never  come  ;  and  he  clasped  his  little 
hands  and  prayed  that  God  might  make  his  father  a  good 
man,  so  that  he  would  go  to  chapel  with  his  mother.  He 
said :  *  Father,  unless  you  do  promise  me  that,  I  cannot 
die.'  His  prayer  affected  two  or  three  in  the  room,  but, 
I  am  sorry  to  say  although  the  father  promised  the  child, 
after  many  entreaties,  that  he  would  alter  his  ways,  he 


ANECDOTES.  113 

has  never  carried  out  his  promise,  nor  has  he  entered  any 
one  place  of  worship  but  twice  since  our  child  died. 
May  God  have  mercy  upon  my  husband !  May  God 
help  you  to  speak  some  word  that  may  draw  him  in  love 
to  his  mother  s  God.  His  mother  died  abroad,  six  years 
ago,  a  dear  Christian,  and  her  prayers,  as  well  as  mine, 
for  her  dear  son,  have  gone  up  to  God  for  many  years. 
All  our  dear  boys  have  died,  until  seven  have  been  taken 
from  us.  Oh,  dear  sir,  pray  for  my  dear  husband."  I 
do  confess  it  almost  broke  my  heart  to  think  how  a  fa- 
ther could  go  and  live  a  life  like  that,  losing  seven  chil- 
dren and  a  praying  m^other,  and  going  madly  down  to 
death  and  ruin. 

LOST  IN  THE  RAPIDS. 
A  FEW  years  ago  there  were  two  men  upon  the 
Niagara  river,  and  they  were  going  toward  the 
rapids.  The  oars  were  lying  in  the  boat,  and  they  were 
drinking  and  talking,  and  having  a  jolly  time.  Some  one 
on  the  shore  saw  their  danger,  and  shouted  to  them  to 
turn  back ;  but  they  laughed  at  his  fears  and  went  on. 
A  little  farther  down  some  others  saw  them  ;  but  one 
of  them  held  up  his  bottle  and  shook  it  at  them,  and 
told  them  what  a  grand  time  they  were  having.  They 
didn't  believe  the  warning;  they  didn't  believe  the 
rapids  were  anywhere  near  them.  They  had  drunk  too 
much,  and  were  intoxicated  with  liquor.  Ah !  many  a 
soul  is  intoxicated  with  this  world's  affairs  and  his  plans 
here  below.     Well,  it  was  n't  long  before  some  one  else 

10* 


114  ANECDOTES. 

saw  their  clanger,  and  he  warned  them.  But  the  men 
went  on.  And  at  last  one  of  them  said :  "  I  hear  the 
rapids!''  And  they  seized  the  oars  and  pulled  against 
the  current — too  late.  They  pulled  and  pulled;  but  it 
was  too  late.  They  could  not  pull  against  that  awful 
current ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  they  went  over  the  cata- 
ract and  into  the  jaws  of  death,  and  lost  their  lives 
because  they  would  not  take  the  warning.  So  God  calls 
upon  you  to  seek  his  kingdom  ;  and  tells  you  if  you  will 
seek  him  with  all  your  heart,  you  will  find  him. 


STEPPING  OVER  CHRIST. 
A  YOUNG  man  in  New  York  city,  whose  father  I 
^  knew,  was  a  great  prodigal,  and  had  broken  his 
mother's  heart,  and  brought  her  down  to  the  grave  in 
sorrow.  Every  night  he  was  out  carousing  with  boon 
companions.  The  father's  heart  was  nearly  broken  too: 
and  one  night  a  few  weeks  after  the  mother's  death  the 
young  man  was  just  starting  out;  the  old  man  said: 
*'  My  son,  I  want  one  favor  of  you.  I  would  like  you  to 
stay  at  home  and  spend  one  night  with  me."  The  young 
man  said  he  did  not  want  to  stay,  it  was  so  gloomy. 
"  But,"  said  the  father,  *'  will  you  not  stay  and  gratify 
your  aged  father }  You  know  your  conduct  killed  your 
poor  mother.  My  boy,  wont  you  stay .?"  The  old  man 
pleaded  with  him,  and  even  begged  him  to  stay,  but  he 
said :  "  No,  I  am  not  going  to  stay  at  home."  The  old 
father  put  forth  one  more  effort  to  save  his  prodigal  boy, 


ANECDOTES.  115 

and  he  threw  himself  down  before  him  in  the  hall.  What 
did  that  son  do  ?  He  just  leaped  over  his  father's  body, 
and  went  out  to  join  his  comrades.  There  is  not  one  of 
you  but  would  say,  "  That  was  an  ungrateful  wretch,  not 
fit  to  live."  Ah,  sinner,  what  would  you  do  with  Christ 
in  such  a  case }  Why,  many  of  you,  I  believe,  if  he  were 
to  throw  himself  down  before  you  and  plead  with  you, 
would  step  right  over  him. 


WEIGHED  IN  THE  BALANCE. 

T  WOULD  like  to  weigh  men,  and  so  I  will  put  the 
scales  up  here.  Imagine  them  hanging  down  from 
heaven  in  this  hall,  and  that  we  are  to  be  weighed. 
Perhaps  if  Belshazzar,  who  was  astonished  at  being  found 
wanting,  had  seen  the  scales,  he  would  have  been  as 
willing  as  most  of  you  to  leap  into  one  pan  with  the  ex- 
pectation of  seeing  the  other  go  up.  The  majority  of 
people  want  to  use  their  own  scales,  feeling  pretty  sure 
that  by  these  they  would  weigh  heavier  than  their  neigh- 
bors. He  (the  speaker)  would  weigh  them  in  God's 
scales,  which  were  evenly  paired  and  balanced,  and  the 
weights  would  be  the  Ten  Commandments. 


HOMELY  ILLUSTRATION  OF  A  SINNER. 

AT'OU  know  that  when  the  perfect  God  gave  a  law,  it 

had  to  be  a  perfect  law,  a  perfect  standard.     No 

man  ever  kept  that  law.     Christ  only  did  it,  because  lie 


ii6  ANECDOTES, 

was  divine.  I  challenge  any  man  or  any  devil  to  find  a 
blemish  in  his  life  or  character.  So  he  was  able  to 
become  the  sinner's  substitute.  In  England  there  used 
to  be  a  game  played  with  bows  and  arrows.  A  man 
would  have  ten  arrows,  and  if  he  missed  sending  them 
every  one  through  a  hoop,  he  was  called  a  "sinner." 
Now  suppose  that  clock  is  a  hoop.  I  send  nine  arrows 
all  through,  but  miss  the  tenth.  I  am  a  sinner.  Then 
some  one  else  here,  says  :  "  Let  me  try  it."  He  misses 
every  one.  We  are  both  "  sinners,"  and  he  no  more  than 
I,  though  I  have  only  missed  one  arrow.  Oh,  my  friend, 
if  you  sin  in  one  point,  and  every  one  has  at  least  done 
that,  you  must  number  yourself  among  the  ungodly. 


EVERY  MAN  A  FAILURE. 

11^  VERY  man,  from  Adam  down,  has  proved  a  failure. 
Man  was  a  failure  in  Eden  ;  he  became  a  wreck 
there.  Man  was  also  a  stupendous  failure  under  the 
Mosaic  covenant.  Then  see  what  a  failure  man  was 
under  the  judges  and  under  the  prophets.  Walk  up  and 
down  the  streets  of  London  or  New  York,  and  see  the 
young  men  reeling  down  to  a  drunkard's  grave.  Look 
at  them  all  around  you  hurrying  on  to  destruction.  Oh, 
man  has  ever  been  and  is  a  failure.  So,  my  friends,  let 
us  learn  this  lesson,  that  man  without  God  is  a  failure, 
put  him  where  you  please ;  the  law  condemns  him ;  he 
is  at  war  with  the  God  that  created  him. 


:_  ANECDOTE.  ^  117 

THE  IDIOTS  MOTHER. 

T  KNOW  a  mother  who  has  an  idiot  child.  For  it  she 
gave  up  all  society,  almost  everything,  and  devoted 
her  whole  life  to  it.  "And  now,"  said  she,  "for  four- 
teen years  I  have  tended  it  and  loved  it,  and  it  does  not 
even  know  me.  Oh,  it  is  breaking  my  heart !"  Oh, 
how  the  Lord  might  bay  this  of  hundreds  here.  Jesus 
comes  here,  and  goes  from  seat  to  seat,  asking  if  there  is 
a  place  for  him.  Oh,  will  not  some  of  you  take  him  into 
your  hearts } 


2.  THE  ATONEMENT. 


"  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 
John  3:16. 

SUBSTITUTION. 
T  F  you  take  this  doctrine  out  of  my  Bible,  I  will  leave 
it  here  to-night,  for  it  is  no  good  to  me.  This  doc- 
trine belongs  to  the  Bible.  You  find  it  like  a  scarlet 
line  running  all  through  the  book.  "All  have  sinned 
and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God,"  but  Christ  died  for 
the  guilty,  "the  just  for  the  unjust."  He  died  in  the 
place  of  sinners ;  and  if  I  have  him,  I  have  taken  him  as 
my  substitute,  and  I  am  saved.  In  the  time  of  Napoleon 
I.,  a  certain  man  agreed  to  join  the  ranks  in  the  place  of 
a  comrade  who  had  been  drafted.  The  offer  was  accept- 
ed, the  battle  took  place,  and  the  man  was  killed.    Some 


ii8  ANECDOTES. 

time  after,  another  draft  was  made,  and  they  wanted  a 
second  time  to  take  the  man  whose  substitute  had  been 
shot.  "  No,"  said  he,  "you  can't  take  me ;  I  'm  dead.  I 
was  shot  at  such  a  battle."  "  Why,  man,  you  are  crazy. 
Look  here,  you  got  a  substitute ;  another  man  went  in 
your  place,  but  you  have  not  been  shot."  *'  No,  but  he 
died  in  my  place ;  he  went  as  my  substitute."  They 
would  not  recognize  it,  and  it  was  carried  up  to  the  em- 
peror, but  the  emperor  said  the  man  was  right.  Napo- 
leon the  First  recognized  the  doctrine  of  substitution. 
But  think  of  this,  my  friends,  the  great  Emperor  of 
heaven  has  recognized  the  doctrine  of  substitution ;  if 
he  had  not,  where  would  our  hope  for  eternity  be } 
Dashed  to  the  ground.  Ask  me  where  my  hope  of  sub- 
stitution is,  and  I  answer,  Jesus  for  me !  I  have  broken 
the  law.  Yes,  but  Christ  sends  me  a  message,  and  he 
says,  "  I  will  take  your  place,  and  you  shall  take  miner 
Take  him  as  your  Substitute  and  Saviour. 


THE  FREE  GIFT. 

TT  is  a  free  gift,  presented  to  "whosoever."  Suppose  I 
were  to  say,  I  will  give  this  Bible  to  "whosoever," 
what  have  you  got  to  do  .'*  Why,  nothing  but  to  take  it. 
But  a  man  comes  forward,  and  says,  "  I  'd  like  that  Bible 
very  much."  "  Well,  did  n't  I  say  *  whosoever '  i*"  "  Yes  ; 
but  I  'd  like  to  have  you  say  my  name."  "  Well,  here  it 
is."  Still  he  keeps  eying  the  Bible,  and  says,  "  I  'd  like 
to  give  you  something  for  it.     I  do  n't  like  to  take  it  for 


ANECDOTES.  119 

nothing."  "  Well,  I  am  not  here  to  sell  Bibles  ;  take  it, 
if  you  want  it."  "  Well,  I  want  it ;  but  I  'd  like  to  give 
you  something  for  it.  Let  me  give  you  a  penny  for  it ; 
though,  to  be  sure,  it 's  worth  twenty  or  thirty  shillings." 
Well,  suppose  I  took  the  penny ;  the  man  takes  up  the 
Bible,  and  marches  away  home  with  it.  His  wife  says, 
''  Where  did  you  get  that  Bible  .?"  "  Oh,  I  bought  it." 
Mark  the  point :  when  he  gives  the  penny  it  ceases  to 
be  a  gift.  So  with  salvation.  If  you  were  to  pay  ever 
so  little,  it  would  not  be  a  gift. 


THE  BLOOD  UPON  THE  DOORPOST, 

npHERE  was  a  little  child  (so  runs  the  legend),  the 
firstborn  in  the  house  of  an  Israelite ;  and  you 
know  God  said  that,  in  every  house  where  the  blood  was 
not  upon  the  doorpost,  the  firstborn  should  be  smitten 
by  death.  The  little  girl  was  sick,  but  she  was  afraid 
that  the  blood  was  not  upon  the  doorpost ;  so  she  asked 
her  father  if  he  was  sure  he  had  put  the  blood  upon  the 
doorpost ;  and  the  father  said,  "  Yes,  he  was  quite  sure  ; 
he  had  ordered  it  to  be  done."  But  the  little  girl  said 
the  second  time,  "Father,  are  you  quite  sure  that  the 
blood  is  there  T  "Yes,  my  child,"  answered  the  father; 
"be  quiet,  and  sleep."  But  the  child  could  not  sleep. 
She  was  very  sick  and  very  restless  ;  and  as  night  came 
on,  and  it  grew  darker  and  darker,  and  nearer  and  nearer 
to  the  time  when  the  angel  should  pass  over  Goshen,  she 
got  still  more  nervous  and  restless  and  uneasy ;  and  at 


120  ANECDOTES, 

last  she  said,  "  Father,  take  me  in  your  arms,  and  let  me 
see  the  blood  upon  the  doorpost ;"  and  the  father,  to  sat- 
isfy the  child,  took  her  to  the  door  to  show  her  the 
blood  ;  and  lo  and  behold  !  it  was  not  there :  the  man  to 
whom  he  had  given  instructions  had  forgotten  to  do  it. 
And  then  the  father,  in  the  sight  of  the  child,  had  the 
blood  sprinkled  upon  the  doorpost,  and  the  child  lay 
down  and  went  to  sleep. 


A 


BOUGHT  WITH  A  PRICE. 

FRIEND  of  mine  was  in  Ireland,  and  saw  a  little 
Irish  boy  who  had  caught  a  sparrow,  and  the  poor 
little  bird  was  trembling  and  panting  in  his  hand,  from 
which  it  wanted  to  get  away.  It  was  evidently  very  much 
affrighted.  The  gentleman  told  the  boy  to  let  it  go,  as 
the  bird  could  not  do  him  any  good ;  but  the  boy  said  he 
would  not  let  it  escape,  for  he  had  been  chasing  it  for 
three  hours  before  he  could  catch  it.  The  gentleman 
then  offered  to  buy  the  bird,  and  the  boy  agreed  to  a 
price,  which  was  paid.  He  took  the  poor  bird  and  held 
it  out  on  his  palm,  where  it  sat  for  a  time,  scarcely  able 
to  realize  the  fact  that  it  had  got  its  liberty ;  but  at  last 
it  flew  away  chirping,  as  if  to  say  to  the  gentleman, 
"  You  have  redeemed  me."  That  is  an  illustration  of 
what  is  meant  by  redemption.  Satan  is  stronger  than 
any  one  upon  earth,  and  there  is  no  match  for  him  but 
Christ.  The  Lion  of  Calvary — the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  he  is  stronger  than  the  lion  of  hell.     When  Christ 


ANECDOTES.  121 

on  Calvary  said,  "  It  is  finished  !"  it  was  the  shout  of 
the  conqueror.  He  came  to  redeem  the  world  without 
money. 

BLAZING  THE  WAY. 

TN  our  western  counties,  when  men  go  out  hunting  into 
the  dense  backwoods,  where  there  are  no  roads  or 
paths  of  any  kind,  they  take  their  hatchet  and  cut  a  little 
chip  out  of  the  bark  of  the  trees  as  they  go  along,  and 
then  they  easily  find  their  way  by  these  "blazes,"  for 
they  call  it  "  blazing  the  way."  And-  so,  if  you  will  allow 
me  the  expression,  Christ  has  "  blazed  the  way."  He  has 
travelled  the  road  himself,  and  knowing  the  way,  he  tells 
us  to  follow  him,  and  he  will  lead  us  safe  on  high. 


I 


PAYING  OUR  DEBTS. 

HEARD  of  an  Engtishman  that  was  converted  some 

time  ago,  and  when  the  Lord  converted  him,  he  had  a 

great  desire  to  see  every  man  converted ;  and,  indeed,  I 

would  not  give  much  for  that  man's  conversion  who  had 

not  that  desire.     This  man  was  so  filled  with  the  love  of 

Christ  that  he  wanted  to  go  out  and  publish  the  good 

tidings.     So  he  went  into  one  town,  and  gave  notice  that 

he  would  preach  in  such  a  place.     It  got  noised  around 

that  the  man  was  rich,  so  a  great  many  went  to  see  him 

out  of  curiosity.     He  had  a  great  audience  the  first  night, 

but  as  he  was  not  a  very  eloquent  man,  people  did  not 

get  interested.     Men  looked  at  the  messenger  instead  of 

11 


\ 


122  ANECDOTES. 

the  message.  The  next  night  hardly  any  one  was  there. 
Then  he  got  out  great  placards,  and  placarded  the  town  ; 
and  he  stated  that  if  any  man  in  the  town  owed  any  debt, 
and  would  come  round  to  his  office  between  nine  and 
twelve  o'clock  on  a  certain  day,  he  would  pay  the  debt. 
Of  course  that  went  through  the  town  like  wild-fire. 
One  said  to  the  other,  ''John,  do  you  believe  that.?" 
"  No,  I  am  not  going  to  believe  that  any  stranger  is  go- 
ing to  pay  our  debts."  No  one  believed  it,  although 
there  were  a  good  many,  no  doubt,  that  would  have  liked 
to  get  their  debts  paid.  Well,  the  day  came,  and  at  nine 
o'clock  the  man  was  there.  At  ten  o'clock  none  had 
come.  At  eleven  o'clock  a  man  was  seen  walking  up 
and  down,  looking  over  his  shoulder,  and  finally  he  put 
his  head  in  at  the  door,  and  said,  "  Is  it  true  that  you 
will  pay  any  man's  debt .?"  The  other  said,  "  Yes ;  do 
you  owe  any  debt  .-*"  "  Yes."  "  Have  you  brought  the 
necessary  papers  .-*"  The  placard  had  told  them  what  to 
do.  **  Yes."  So  the  man  drew  a  check  and  paid  the 
other's  debt,  and  kept  him  and  talked  with  him  till 
twelve  o'clock ;  and  before  twelve  o'clock  two  other  men 
came  and  got  their  debts  paid.  At  twelve  o'clock  the 
man  let  them  out,  and  the  people  outside  said  to  them, 
"  He  paid  your  debts,  did  he  not  T  "  Yes,  he  did,"  they 
answered.  But  the  people  laughed,  and  made  fun  of 
them,  and  would  not  believe  it  till  they  pulled  out  the 
check,  and  said,  "  There  it  is  ;  he  has  paid  all  the  debt." 
And  then  the  people  said,  "  What  fools  we  were  we  did 
not  go  in  and  get  our  debts  paid !"     But  they  could  not; 


ANECDOTES.  123 

it  was  too  late ;  the  door  was  closed ;  the  time  was  up. 
And  then  the  man,  as  before,  preached  the  gospel,  and 
great  crowds  went  to  hear  him ;  and  he  said,  "  Now,  my 
friends,  that  is  what  God  wants  to  do,  but  you  will  not 
let  him  do  it.  Christ  came  to  pay  our  debts,  and  this  is 
the  gospel."  I  could  not  have  a  better  illustration  of  the 
gospel  than  this.  Every  man  owes  God  a  debt  he  can- 
not pay.  Would  you  insult  the  Almighty  by  offering 
fruits  of  this  frail  body  to  atone  for  sin }  Isaiah  says, 
"  He  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  he  was  bruised 
for  our  iniquities ;  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was 
upon  him  ;  and  with  his  stripes  we  are  healed."  Paul 
says :  "  I  declare  unto  you  the  gospel,  how  that  Christ 
died  for  our  sins  according  to  the  Scriptures." 


CHRIST S  DEATH. 

T  ET  us  get  back  to  the  simple  gospel — Christ  died  for 
our  sins.  We  must  know  Christ  at  Calvary  first, 
as  our  Substitute,  as  our  Redeemer  ;  and  the  moment  we 
accept  of  him  as  our  Substitute  and  our  Redeemer,  then 
it  is  that  we  become  partakers  of  the  gospel.  The  mo- 
ment I  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  my  Substi- 
tute, as  my  Saviour,  that  moment  I  get  light  and  peace. 
I  know  some  people  say,  "  Oh,  it  is  not  Christ's  death, 
it  is  Christ's  life.  Do  not  be  preaching  so  much  about 
the  death  of  Christ,  preach  about  his  life."  My  friends, 
that  never  will  save  any  one.  Paul  says:  "I  declare 
unto  you  the  gospel :  Christ  died " — not  Christ  lived — 


J  24  ANECDOTES, 

**  Christ  died  for  our  sins."  Peter  says:  "Who  his  own 
self  bare  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree."  Novv, 
when  I  accept  of  Christ  as  my  Saviour,  as  my  Substitute, 
then  I  am  justified  from  all  things  from  which  I  could 
not  be  justified  by  the  law  of  Moses. 

REDEMPTION. 
/^NCE  when  I  was  revisiting  my  native  village,  I  was 
going  to  a  neighboring  town  to  preach,  and  saw  a 
young  man  coming  from  a  house  with  a  wagon,  in  which 
was  seated  an  old  woman.  I  felt  interested  in  them,  and 
asked  my  companion  who  they  were.  I  was  told  to  look 
at  the  adjoining  meadow  and  pasture,  and  at  the  great 
barns  that  were  on  the  farm,  as  well  as  a  good  house. 
"Well,"  said  my  companion,  "that  young  man's  father 
drank  that  all  up,  and  left  his  wife  in  the  poorhouse. 
The  young  man  went  away  and  worked  until  he  had  got 
money  enough  to  redeem  that  farm,  and  now  it  is  his 
own,  and  he  is  taking  his  mother  to  church."  That  is 
another  illustration  of  redemption.  In  the  first  Adam 
we  have  lost  all,  but  the  second  Adam  has  redeemed 
everything  by  His  death. 

WHAT  GOD  CANNOT  DO. 
TN  Ireland,  some  time  ago,  a  teacher  asked  a  little  boy 
if  there  was  anything  that  God  could  not  do,  and  the 
little  fellow  said  :  "Yes  ;  he  cannot  see  my  sins  through 
the  blood  of  Christ."  That  is  just  what  he  cannot  do. 
The  blood  covers  them. 


ANECDOTES.  125 

THE  FIRE  ON  THE  PRAIRIE. 
/^UT  in  our  western  country  in  the  autumn,  when 
men  go  hunting,  and  there  has  not  been  for  months 
any  rain,  sometimes  the  prairie  grass  catches  fire,  and 
there  comes  a  very  strong  wind,  and  the  flames  roll 
along  twenty  feet  high  over  that  western  desert,  and 
travel  at  the  rate  of  thirty  or  forty  miles  an  hour,  con- 
suming man  and  beast.  When  the  frontier-men  see  it 
coming,  what  do  they  do  ?  They  know  they  cannot  run 
as  fast  as  the  fire  can  run.  Not  the  fleetest  horse  can 
escape  from  the  fire.  They  just  take  a  match  and  light 
the  grass  around  them  and  let  the  flames  sweep,  and  then 
they  get  into  the  burnt  district  and  stand  safe.  They 
hear  the  flames  roar  as  they  come  along ;  they  see  death 
approaching  them  ;  but  they  do  not  fear,  they  do  not 
tremble,  because  the  fire  has  passed  over  the  place  where 
they  are,  and  there  is  no  danger,  for  there  is  nothing  for 
the  fire  to  burn.  Now  there  is  one  mountain  peak  that 
the  wrath  of  God  has  swept  over ;  that  is  Mount  Calvary, 
and  that  fire  spent  its  fury  upon  the  bosom  of  the  Son 
of  God.  Take  your  stand  here  by  the  cross,  and  you 
will  be  safe  for  time  and  eternity. 


FOR  THE  PEOPLE  BURNED  OUT. 

A  FTER  the  Chicago  fire  took  place,  a  great  many 

things  were  sent  to  us  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 

The  boxes  they  came  in  were  labelled:   "For  the  people 

who  were  burned  out,"  and  all  a  man  had  to  do  was  to 

11* 


126  ANECDOTES, 

prove  that  he  had  been  burned  out,  and  he  got  a  share. 
So  here,  you  have  but  to  prove  that  you  are  poor,  miser- 
able sinners,  and  there  is  help  for  you.  If  a  man  who 
feels  ruined  and  lost  will  cling  to  "  try,"  there  is  no  hope ; 
but  if  he  will  give  all  his  "  trying"  up  as  a  bad  job,  then 
Christ  will  save  him.  The  law  condemns  us,  but  Christ 
saves  us. 


A 


RECONCILIATION  OVER  A  MOTHER'S  CORPSE. 
MOTHER  in  New  York,  whose  son  had  got  into 


dissipated  and  abandoned  habits,  after  repeated  re- 
monstrances and  threats,  was  turned  out  of  doors  by  his 
father,  and  he  left  vowing  he  would  never  return  unless 
his  father  asked  him,  which  the  father  said  would  never 
be.  Grief  over  her  son  soon  laid  the  mother  on  her  dy- 
ing-bed ;  and  when  her  husband  asked  if  there  was  noth- 
ing he  could  do  for  her  ere  she  departed  this  life,  she 
said,  "  Yes,  you  can  send  for  my  boy."  The  father  was 
at  first  unwilling,  but  at  length,  seeing  her  so  near  her 
end,  he  sent  for  his  son.  The  young  man  came,  and  as 
he  entered  the  sick-room  his  father  turned  his  back  upon 
him.  As  the  mother  was  sinking  rapidly,  the  two  stood 
on  opposite  sides  of  her  bed,  all  love  and  sorrow  for  her, 
but  not  exchanging  a  word  with  each  other.  She  asked 
the  father  to  forgive  the  boy ;  no,  he  would  n't  until  the 
son  asked  it.  Turning  to  him,  she  begged  of  him  to  ask 
his  father  s  forgiveness ;  no,  his  proud  heart  would  not 
let  him  take  the  first  step.  After  repeated  attempts  she 
failed ;  but  as  she  was  just  expiring,  with  one  last  effort 


ANECDOTES.  127 

she  got  hold  of  the  father's  hand  in  one  hand  and  her 
son's  in  the  other,  and  exerting  all  her  feeble  strength, 
she  joined  their  hands,  and,  with  one  last  appealing  look, 
she  was  gone.  Over  her  dead  body  they  were  recon- 
ciled, but  it  took  the  mother's  death  to  bring  it  about. 
So,  has  not  God  made  a  great  sacrifice  that  we  might  be 
reconciled  t  even  the  death  of  his  own  dear  Son. 

THE  LITTLE  BOY  AND  THE  ORANGE. 
TV /TY  wife  went  out  one  day,  and  my  little  boy,  two 
years  old,  got  hold  of  a  pair  of  scissors.  My  little 
girl  knew  he  ought  not  to  have  them,  and  she  went  to 
him  and  tried  to  get  them  away ;  but  the  little  fellow 
held  on  to  the  scissors,  and  would  not  give  them  up. 
She  was  afraid  of  his  sticking  them  in  his  eyes,  so  she 
ran  off  to  another  room  and  got  an  orange,  and  came 
running  in,  and  held  it  up,  and  said,  "  Willie,  do  you  not 
want  this  orange  V  and  the  little  fellow  dropped  the  scis- 
sors and  went  for  the  orange.  If  you  will  allow  the  illus- 
tration, God  comes  here  and  says,  "  Here  is  my  Son,  take 
him."  He  saves  the  sinner;  and  the  moment  we  get 
Him,  these  things  we  have  loved  so  much  are  gone  ; 
they  float  away  into  the  dim  past.     Christ  is  worth  more 

than  all  the  world. 

» 

/  DIED  FOR  YOU. 
\  T  the  time  of  the  gold-fever  in  California,  a  man 
went  from  England  to  the  diggings.     By-and-by  he 
sent  money  for  his  wife  and  child  to  follow  him.     They 


128  ANECDOTES. 

arrived  safely  in  New  York,  and  there  took  a  passage  in 
one  of  the  beautiful  Pacific  steamers.  A  few  days  after 
sailing  the  terrible  cry  of  "  Fire !  fire  !"  rung  through  the 
ship.  Everything  that  the  captain  and  sailors  could  do 
was  done,  but  it  was  of  no  use  ;  the  fire  rapidly  gained 
ground.  As  there  was  a  powder-magazine  on  board,  the 
captain  knew  that  the  moment  the  flames  reached  it  the 
vessel  would  be  blown  up  ;  so  he  gave  the  word  to  lower 
the  life-boats.  They  were  got  out,  but  there  was  not 
room  for  all ;  so  the  strong  pushed  in  and  left  the  weak 
to  their  fate.  As  the  last  boat  was  moving  off,  a  mother 
and  her  boy  were  on  the  deck,  and  she  pleaded  to  be 
taken  on  board.  The  sailors  agreed  to  take  one,  but  not 
both.  What  did  the  mother  do  }  Did  she  jump  in  her- 
self .-*  No  ;  she  kissed  her  boy,  and  handing  him  over 
the  side  of  the  ship,  said,  "  If  you  live  to  see  your  father, 
tell  him  I  died  to  save  you."  That  was  great  love,  yet  it 
is  but  a  faint  type  of  what  Christ  has  done  for  us. 


THE  KING'S  PARDON 

A  MAN  was  once  being  tried  for  a  crime,  the  punish- 
ment of  which  was  death.  The  witnesses  came  in 
one  by  one  and  testified  to  his  guilt ;  but  there  he  stood, 
quite  calm  and  unmoved.  The  judge  and  the  jury  were 
quite  surprised  at  his  indifference  ;  they  could  not  under- 
stand how  he  could  take  such  a  serious  matter  so  calmly. 
When  the  jury  retired,  it  did  not  take  them  many  min- 
utes to  decide  on  the  verdict  "  Guilty ;"  and  when  the 


ANECDOTES.  129 

judge  was  passing  the  sentence  of  death  upon  the  crim- 
inal, he  told  him  how  surprised  he  was  that  he  could  be 
so  unmoved  in  the  prospect  of  death.  When  the  judge 
had  finished,  the  man  put  his  hand  in  his  bosom,  pulled 
out  a  document,  and  walked  out  of  the  dock  a  free  man. 
Ah,  that  was  how  he  could  be  so  calm ;  it  was  a  free  par- 
don from  his  king,  which  he  had  in  his  pocket  all  the 
time.  The  king  had  instructed  him  to  allow  the  trial  to 
proceed,  and  to  produce  the  pardon  only  when  he  was 
condemned.  No  wonder,  then,  that  he  was  indifferent 
as  to  the  result  of  the  trial.  Now  that  is  just  what  will 
make  us  joyful  in  the  great  day  of  judgment :  we  have 
got  a  pardon  from  the  Great  King,  and  it  is  sealed  with 
the  blood  of  his  Son. 


FREEDOM. 

"117 HEN  I  was  at  Richmond,  Va.,  the  colored  people 
were  going  to  have  a  meeting.  It  was  the  first 
day  of  their  freedom.  I  went  to  the  African  church,  and 
never  before  or  since  heard  such  bursts  of  native  elo- 
quence. "Mother,"  said  one,  "rejoice  to-day.  Your 
little  child  has  been  sold  from  you  for  the  last  time  ; 
your  posterity  are  for  ever  free.  Glory  to  God  in  the 
highest !  Young  men,  you  have  heard  the  driver's  whip 
for  the  last  time  ;  you  are  free  to-day !  Young  maidens, 
you  have  been  put  up  on  the  auction-block  for  the  last 
time!"  They  spoke  right  out,  they  shouted  for  joy; 
their  prayers  had  been  answered ;  it  was  the  Gospel  to 


I30  ANECDOTES. 

them.  In  like  manner  Jesus  Christ  proclaims  liberty  to 
the  captives.  Some  have  accepted  it ;  some,  like  the 
poor  negroes,  scarcely  believe  the  good  tidings  ;  but  it  is 
none  the  less  true.  Christ  has  come  to  redeem  us  from 
the  slavery  of  sin.  Now,  who  will  accept  of  that  redemp- 
tion }  There  was  one  colored  woman,  a  servant  in  an 
inn  in  the  Southern  states,  who  could  not  believe  she 
was  free.  "  Be's  I  free,  or  he's  I  not  T  she  asked  of  a 
visitor.  Her  master  told  her  she  was  not  free  ;  her  col- 
ored brethren  told  her  she  was.  For  two  years  she  had 
been  free  without  knowing  it.  She  represents  a  great 
many  in  the  church  of  God  to-day.  They  can  have  lib- 
erty, and  yet  they  do  n't  know  it 


AN  AFFECTING  WAR  STORY. 

T  WAS  in  Brooklyn  one  day,  when  I  met  a  young  man 
passing  down  the  streets.  I  want  to  tell  you  his  his- 
tory. At  the  time  the  war  broke  out  the  young  man 
was  engaged  to  be  married  to  a  young  lady  in  New  Eng- 
land, but  the  marriage  was  postponed.  He  was  very  for- 
tunate in  battle  after  battle,  until  the  battle  of  the  Wil- 
derness took  place,  just  before  the  war  was  over.  The 
young  lady  was  looking  anxiously  for  a  letter  from  him, 
and  was  counting  the  days  at  the  end  of  which  he  would 
return.  She  waited  for  letters,  but  no  letters  came.  At 
last  she  received  one  addressed  in  a  strange  handwri- 
ting, and  it  read  something  like  this :  "  There  has  been 
another  terrible  battle.     I  have  been  unfortunate  this 


ANECDOTES.  131 

time ;  I  have  lost  both  my  arms.  I  cannot  write  myself, 
but  a  comrade  is  writing  this  letter  for  me.  I  write  to 
tell  you  you  are  as  dear  to  me  as  ever ;  but  I  shall  now 
be  dependent  upon  other  people  for  the  rest  of  my  days, 
and  I  have  this  letter  written  to  release  you  from  your 
engagement."  This  letter  was  never  answered.  By  the 
next  train  that  left  that  town  she  went  clear  down  to  the 
scene  of  the  late  conflict,  and  sent  word  to  the  captain 
what  her  errand  was,  and  got  the  number  of  the  soldier's 
cot.  She  went  along  the  line,  and  the  moment  her  eyes 
fell  upon  that  number  she  went  to  that  cot  and  threw 
her  arms  around  that  young  man's  neck  and  kissed  him. 
"  I  will  never  give  you  up,"  she  said.  "  These  hands 
will  never  give  you  up  ;  I  am  able  to  support  you  ;  I  will 
take  care  of  you."  My  friends,  you  are  not  able  to  take 
care  of  yourselves.  The  law  says  you  are  ruined,  but 
Christ  says,  "  I  will  take  care  of  you  ;  I  will  snap  the 
fetters  that  bind  you.  I  will  bring  you  out  of  the  house 
of  bondage.  I  will  set  your  soul  free  from  sin  and 
death ;  I  will  give  you  eternal  life.  I  will  take  care  of 
you."  That  young  man  might  have  rejected  that  young 
lady.  And,  sinner,  you  can  reject  the  Son  of  God  if  you 
will,  but  if  you  do  you  must  perish. 


CHRIST  BREAKING  THE  CHAIN. 

TN  the  North  there  was  a  minister  talking  to  a  man  in 

the  inquiry-room.     The  man  says,  "My  heart  is  so 

hard,  it  seems  as  if  it  was  chained,  and  I  cannot  come." 

(fTJHIVSRSITY^ 


132  ANECDOTES. 

"Ah,"  says  the  minister,  "come  along,  chain  and  all;** 
and  he  just  came  to  Christ  hard-hearted,  chain  and  all, 
and  Christ  snapped  the  fetters,  and  set  him  free  right 
there.  So  come  along.  If  you  are  bound  hand  and  feet 
by  Satan,  it  is  the  work  of  God  to  break  the  fetters ;  you 
cannot  break  them. 


DROWNED. 

A  WAY  off  on  the  Northern  coast,  some  time  ago, 
"^^  there  was  a  vessel  wrecked,  and  a  mother  and  her 
babe  lost  their  lives  on  that  night.  The  little  babe  was 
in  her  arms.  When  they  found  her  on  the  shore  the 
little  babe  was  clasped  to  her  bosom.  They  attempted 
to  separate  the  babe  and  mother,  for  burial  purposes  ; 
but  they  found  it  was  so  difficult  that  they  buried  them 
together.  So  you  might  say  that  Christ  took  the  poor 
sinner  into  his  bosom  and  went  down  to  the  grave  with 
him,  and  burst  asunder  the  bonds  of  death,  and  ascended 
and  gave  him  a  seat  at  the  right  hand  of  God. 


THE  DYING  SOLDIER. 

'T^HERE  is  a  story  told  in  connection  with  our  war  of 
a  mother  who  received  a  despatch  that  her  son  was 
mortally  wounded.  She  went  down  to  the  front,  as  she 
knew  that  those  soldiers  told  off  to  watch  the  sick  and 
wounded  could  not  watch  her  boy  as  she  would.  So  she 
went  to  the  doctor,  and  said,  "  Would  you  like  me  to 
take  care  of  my  boy T     The  doctor  said,  "We  have  just 


ANECDOTES.  133 

let  him  go  to  sleep,  and  if  you  go  to  him  the  surprise 
will  be  so  great  it  might  be  dangerous  to  him.  He  is  in 
a  very  critical  state.  I  will  break  the  news  to  him  grad- 
ually." "  But,"  said  the  mother,  "  he  may  never  wake 
up.  I  should  so  dearly  like  to  see  him."  Oh,  how  she 
longed  to  see  him !  and  finally  the  doctor  said,  "  You 
can  see  him,  but  if  you  wake  him  up  and  he  dies,  it  will 
be  your  fault."  "  Well,"  she  said,  "  I  will  not  wake  him 
up  if  I  may  only  go  by  his  dying-cot  and  see  him." 
Well,  she  went  to  the  side  of  the  cot.  Her  eyes  had 
longed  to  see  him ;  and  as  she  gazed  upon  him  she  could 
not  keep  her  hand  off  that  pallid  forehead,  and  she  laid 
it  gently  there.  There  was  love  and  sympathy  in  that 
hand,  and  the  moment  the  slumbering  boy  felt  it,  he 
said,  "  O  mother,  have  you  come  r  He  knew  there  was 
sympathy  and  affection  in  the  touch  of  that  hand.  And 
if  you,  O  sinner,  will  let  Jesus  reach  out  his  hand  and 
touch  your  heart,  you  too  will  find  there  is  sympathy 
and  love  in  it. 


F 


SCOURGING. 

OR  a  long  time   I   did  n't  know  what  a    Roman 

scourging  was;   but  when  I  did,  I  just   lay  down 

on  my  face  and  asked  the  Lord  Jesus  to  forgive  me  for 

not  loving  him  better  and  trying  to  please  him  more. 

The  Roman  custom  of  scourging — ^just  the  scourging 

alone — ought   to   break  the   heart   of   every  man   and 

woman.     The  custom  was  to  bind  the  prisoner's  wrists 

12 


134  ANECDOTES. 

together,  and  bind  his  body  in  a  stooping  posture,  and 
strip  his  back  quite  bare,  and  then,  fastening  together 
some  rods,  or  leathern  thongs,  weighted  with  jagged 
edges  of  bone  and  lead,  make  what  was  called  a  scourge. 
Yes,  truly,  "  He  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities,  the  chas- 
tisement of  our  peace  was  upon  Him,  and  by  his  stripes 
we  are  healed."  Just  imagine  the  Son  of  God  to-night 
before  this  assembly,  bound  to  that  post,  and  the  Roman 
soldier  takes  the  scourge  and  brings  it  down  on  that 
poor  back,  blow  after  blow,  clear  through  the  skin  and 
flesh.  Sometimes  a  man  would  die  under  the  operation. 
Thirty-nine  or  more  strokes  on  that  back ! 


M 


AFRAID  OF  THE  LANDLORD. 

ANY  think  God  comes  wanting  something  from 
us.  When  he  was  in  Glasgow,  Dr.  William  Arnot 
heard  that  a  poor  woman  was  unable  to  pay  her  rent, 
and  he  thought  he  would  go  round  to  her  house  and 
give  her  some  assistance.  After  knocking  he  heard 
some  one  moving ;  he  knocked  again,  but  no  one  came ; 
he  waited  some  time,  but  after  knocking  repeatedly  he 
had  to  leave  without  gaining  admittance.  A  day  or  two 
afterwards  he  met  the  woman  in  the  street,  and  told  her 
that  he  had  been  at  the  house,  with  the  view  of  helping 
her.  "  O  doctor !"  exclaimed  the  poor  widow,  "  was 
that  you  .-*  Why,  I  thought  it  was  the  landlord,  and  was 
afraid  to  open,  as  I  had  nothing  to  pay  him  with."  Now 
that  woman  just  represented  a  sinner.     Jesus  comes 


ANECDOTES.  135 

knocking  at  the  door  of  our  heart ;  He  says  :  "  Behold, 
I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock,  if  any  man  open  I  will 
come  in  and  sup  with  him."  He  is  knocking — knocking 
to-day,  and  yet  we  keep  the  door  fastened  and  hide 
trembling,  imagining  all  the  time  that  He  has  come  to 
demand  something  we  cannot  pay. 


«/r  IS  finished:' 

AT  the  last  He  cried,  with  a  loud  voice:  "It  is 
finished !"  Perhaps  not  many  on  earth  heard  it, 
or  cared  about  it  when  they  did  hear  it ;  but  I  can 
imagine  there  were  not  many  in  heaven  who  did  not 
hear  it,  and  if  they  have  bells  in  heaven,  how  they  must 
have  rung  out  that  day:  "//  is  finished  !  It  is  finished  T 
The  Son  of  God  had  died  that  poor  sinful  man  might 
have  life  eternal.  I  can  imagine  the  angels  walking 
through  the  streets  of  heaven  crying:  "//  is  finished T 
and  the  mansions  of  that  world  ringing  with  the  glad 
tidings:  "//  is  finished  T  It  was  the  shout  of  victory. 
All  you  have  got  to  do  is  to  look  and  be  saved.  You 
have  seen  the  waves  of  the  sea  come  dashing  up  against 
a  rocky  shore.  They  come  up  and  beat  against  the 
rock,  and,  breaking  into  pieces,  go  back  to  gather  fresh 
strength,  and  again  they  come  up  and  beat  against  the 
rock  only  to  be  again  broken  into  pieces.  And  so  it 
would  seem  as  if  the  dark  waves  of  hell  had  gathered 
all  their  strength  together  and  had  come  beating  up 
against  the  bosom  of  the  Son  of  God;  but  he  drives 


136  ANECDOTES. 

them  all  back  again  with  that  shout  of  a  conqueror:  "It 
is  finished."  And  with  that  shout  He  snapped  the  fet- 
ters of  sin,  and  broke  the  power  of  the  devil. 

"Death,  hell,  and  sin,  are  now  subdued; 
All  grace  is  now  to  sinners  given ; 
And,  lo,  I  plead  the  atoning  blood, 
And  in  thy  right  I  claim  thy  heaven." 


3.  REPENTANCE. 


Repentance  implies  conviction  of  sin — sorrow  for  sin — turning  from 
sin.  It  is  made  an  essential  to  salvation  by  our  Lord :  "  Except  ye  repent 
ye  shall  all  likewise  perish." 

THE  REPENTANT  SON. 
T  REMEMBER  to  have  heard  a  story  of  a  bad  boy 
who  had  run  away  from  home.  He  had  given  his 
father  no  end  of  trouble.  He  had  refused  all  the  invita- 
tions which  his  father  had  sent  him  to  come  home  and 
be  forgiven,  and  help  comfort  his  old  heart.  He  had 
even  gone  so  far  as  to  scoff  at  his  father  and  mother. 
But  one  day  a  letter  came,  telling  him  his  father  was 
dead,  and  they  wanted  him  to  come  home  and  attend  the 
funeral.  At  first  he  determined  he  would  not  go,  but 
then  he  thought  it  would  be  a  shame  not  to  pay  some 
little  respect  to  the  memory  of  so  good  a  man ;  and  so, 
just  as  a  matter  of  form,  he  took  the  train  and  went  to 
the  old  home,  sat  through  all  the  funeral  services,  saw 
his  father  buried,  and  came  back  with  the  rest  of  the 


ANECDOTES.  137 

friends  to  the  house,  with  his  heart  as  cold  and  stony  as 
ever.  But  when  the  old  man's  will  was  brought  out  to 
be  read,  the  ungrateful  son  found  that  his  father  had 
remembered  him  along  with  all  the  rest  of  the  family, 
and  had  left  him  an  inheritance  with  the  others,  who 
had  not  gone  astray.  This  broke  his  heart  in  penitence. 
It  was  too  much  for  him,  that  his  old  father,  during  all 
those  years  in  which  he  had  been  so  wicked  and  rebel- 
lious, had  never  ceased  to  love  him.  That  is  just  the 
way  our  Father  in  Heaven  does  with  us.  That  is  just 
the  way  Jesus  does  with  people  who  refuse  to  give  their 
hearts  to  Him.  He  loves  them  in  spite  of  their  sins, 
and  it  is  this  love  which,  more  than  anything  else,  brings 
hard-hearted  sinners  to  their  knees. 


THE  REPENTANT  CHILD. 
TN  closing  a  searching  appeal  to  the  unconverted,  Mr. 
Moody  described  a  scene  which  took  place  between 
his  sister  and  a  little  son,  who  had  been  very  naughty. 
Both  father  and  mother  requested  the  child  to  ask  for- 
giveness, but  he  would  not.  His  mother  put  him  to  bed, 
and  said  he  must  stay  there  until  he  submitted.  The 
parents  visited  him  at  intervals  for  forty-eight  hours,  and 
he  was  still  obstinate;  but  at  last  he  yielded  to  his 
mother's  loving  appeal,  and  slowly  repeated  after  her, 
"  Mother — forgive — me."  "  I  have  said  it,"  shouted  the 
repentant ;  "  give  me  my  clothes,  till  I  go  down  and  tell 
papa."  God  is  asking  all  men  to  repent,  and  he  wants 
to  freely  forgive  all  who  believe  in  Jesus. 

XT 


138  ANECDOTES, 

MOODY  AND  THE  INQUIRER, 

A  MAN  said  to  me  the  other  night  in  the  inquiry- 
room,  **Mr.  Moody,  I  wish  you  would  tell  me  why 
I  can't  find  the  Lord."  Said  I,  "  I  can  tell  you  why  you 
can't  find  him."  "Why  is  it?"  "Why,  you  haven't 
sought  for  him  with  all  your  heart."  He  looked  at  me, 
and  said  he  thought  he  had.  "  Well,"  said  I,  "  I  think 
you  have  n't ;  because  you  will  surely  find  him  when  you 
seek  for  him  with  all  your  heart.  Now,  my  friend,  I  can 
tell  you  the  day  and  hour  you  are  going  to  be  converted." 
The  man  looked  at  me,  and  I  have  no  doubt  thought  I 
was  a  little  wild.  Said  I,  "  The  Scripture  tells  me,  '  Ye 
shall  find  me  when  ye  seek  for  me  with  all  your  heart.' " 
It  do  n't  take  a  man  long  to  find  the  Lord  when  he  makes 
his  mind  up  to  do  it. 


THE  LOST  DIAMOND  RING, 

O  OME  people  say,  "  We  are,  we  are  in  earnest,  and  we 
want  the  Lord  more  than  anything  else."  Well,  I 
doubt  it.  I  do  n't  believe  that  any  man  or  woman  would 
go  out  of  this  Rink  to-night  without  being  saved  if  they 
wanted  God  more  than  anything  else.  If  men  were 
really  in  earnest  about  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  they 
would  soon  be  saved.  If  a  man  should  come  here  to- 
night, and  say,  "Moody,  I  came  up  to  the  Rink  last 
night.  I  had  a  very  valuable  diamond  ring,  which  was 
left  me  by  my  mother,  and  it  is  of  great  value  to  me.     I 


ANECDOTES,  139 

had  it  on  my  finger  when  I  came  into  the  Rink,  and,  of 
course,  I  lost  it  here.  I  had  it  when  I  came  in,  and 
did  n't  have  it  when  I  went  out.  Now,  the  ring  is  not 
worth  ten  thousand  dollars ;  but  I  will  give  ten  thousand 
dollars  to  any  one  that  finds  it  and  returns  it."  Then 
suppose  I  gave  this  out  before  preaching  my  sermon. 
Why,  you  would  n't  be  thinking  about  the  sermon.  You 
would  be  thinking  about  that  diamond  ring.  You  would 
be  looking  for  it,  hoping  to  get  those  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars. I  do  n't  believe  there  would  be  policemen  enough 
in  Brooklyn  to  get  you  out  of  this.  You  would  want  to 
find  that  ring.  Ten  thousand  dollars !  Come  here  a 
poor  man,  and  go  away  worth  ten  thousand  dollars ! 
You  could  n't  get  those  ten  thousand  dollars  out  of  your 
minds.  How  eager  you  would  become.  You  would  n't 
talk  about  going  home  and  going  to  sleep  to-night  if 
there  was  one  chance  in  a  million  of  finding  that  ring. 
Why,  how  you  would  search  for  it !  You  would  be  deeply 
in  earnest  then,  if  there  was  a  chance  for  you  to  find  it. 
Now,  if  men  would  seek  for  salvation  as  they  would  seek 
to  gain  ten  thousand  dollars,  do  n't  you  think  they  would 
find  it  .^     Of  course  they  would — could  n't  help  it. 


THE  VALUE  OF  FIFTY  YEARS. 

T   SAW  an  old  man  in  the  inquiry-room,  who,  I  was  in- 
formed, was  seventy-five  years  old.    And  the  thought 
came  across  me.  If  this  man  is  saved,  he  is  so  old,  he  can't 
do  much  for  the  cause.     Suppose  he  had  been  converted 


140  ANECDOTES, 

fifty  years  ago,  he  would  have  been  fifty  years  a  Chris- 
tian, and  might  have  led  thousands  of  souls  to  Christ,  and 
in  those  fifty  years  what  a  work  he  might  have  done  !  If 
he  is  saved  now — and  I  hope  he  is — his  life  is  lost.  It 
has  gone  for  all  time  and  eternity  ;  and  would  n't  it  have 
been  better  for  him  if  he  had  sought  the  Lord  fifty  years 
ago  ?  It  is  a  wonder  he  has  done  so  at  all.  Very  few 
men  now  live  the  life  allotted  to  men  ;  and  if  they  do, 
few  of  them  are  ever  seen  in  the  church  of  God  inquiring 
the  way  of  life.  Their  hearts  become  hard,  and  so  indif- 
ferent you  cannot  reach  them.  It  was  a  glorious  sight 
to  see  that  old  man  there  last  night ;  but  it  *s  a  better 
sight  to  see  the  young  coming  in  the  morning  of  their 
life.  __^ 

REPENTANCE  ON  SEEING  THE  CORPSE  OF  A 
MOTHER, 

(~\^  enforcing  the  duty  of  immediate  repentance,  Mr. 
Moody  told  a  story  of  a  boy  who  assaulted  an  inva- 
lid mother  and  left  home,  refusing  to  comply  with  re- 
peated invitations  to  return  home.  She  died  of  a  broken 
heart ;  and  as  soon  as  the  youth  was  ushered  into  the 
death-chamber  and  saw  the  form  of  his  mother,  he  pros- 
trated himself  at  the  bedside  and  repented  of  his  sin. 
So  the  death  of  Christ  ought  to  lead  all  sinners  to  re- 
pentance. 


ANECDOTES,  141 


4.  FAITH. 


Acceptance  of  and  trust  in  the  atonement  of  Christ  is  the  absolute 
condition  on  which  salvation  is  bestowed  en  the  sinner.  "  Believe  on  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  "  He  loved  me  and  gave 
himself  for  me." 

WHAT  THE  WORLD  BELIEVES. 

T7AITH  has  an  outward  look,  not  an  inward  one. 
Hundreds  of  people  spend  time  in  looking  at  their 
own  hearts,  but  faith  is  an  outward  look.  We  are  to 
have  faith  in  God,  and  not  in  man.  A  great  many  peo- 
ple place  their  faith  in  men  ;  they  pin  their  faith  to  other 
people's  doctrines  and  creeds.  Not  long  ago  I  heard  of 
a  man  who  was  asked  what  he  believed.  He  said  he 
believed  what  his  church  believed.  "  What  does  your 
church  believe  T  "  The  church  believes  what  I  believe.'* 
And  that  was  all  they  could  get  out  of  him.  There  are 
a  great  many  in  that  state  of  mind.  They  profess  to 
believe  what  the  church  believes,  but  they  do  not  know 
what  the  church  believes.  If  their  church  teaches  it, 
they  say  they  believe  it.  All  the  churches  in  the  world 
can't  save  a  soul.  It  is  not  to  have  faith  in  this  church 
or  that  church,  this  doctrine  or  that  doctrine,  this  man 
or  that  man,  but  it  is  to  have  faith  in  the  Man  Christ 
Jesus  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  That  is  the  only  faith 
that  will  ever  save  a  soul. 


142  ANECDOTES, 

THE  FAITH  OF  AN  OLD  NEGRESS. 

T  HAVE  a  great  admiration  for  the  old  colored  woman 
who  said  if  God  told  her  to  jump  through  a  stone  wall 
she  would  jump  at  it ;  getting  through  the  wall  was  God's 
work,  not  hers,  and  she  would  do  whatever  God  told  her 
to  do.  The  greatest  enemy  God  and  man  have  is  unbe- 
lief. Christ  found  it  on  both  sides  of  the  cross.  It  was 
the  very  thing  that  put  him  to  death.  The  Jews  did  not 
believe  him ;  they  did  not  believe  God  had  sent  him  ; 
they  took  him  to  Calvary  and  murdered  him ;  and  the 
first  thing  we  find  after  he  got  up  out  of  the  grave  was 
unbelief  again.  Thomas,  one  of  his  own  disciples,  did 
not  believe  he  had  risen.  He  said,  "  Thomas,  feel  these 
wounds  ;"  and  Thomas  instantly  believed,  and  said,  "  My 
Lord  and  my  God."  Now  those  Christians  here  that 
have  learnt  to  trust  God  in  past  years  will  bear  me  out 
in  this,  that  the  more  they  know  of  God  the  more  they 
can  trust  him.  Why  }  They  have  found  God  to  be  true. 
When  man  has  failed,  God  never  has  failed;  and  when 
every  one  else  has  disappointed  them,  God  has  proved 
true. 


LOOK  AND  LIVE, 


Q OME  one  may  say,  "  You  are  always  crying,  '  Believe, 
believe,  believe,'  till  my  head  is  sick  hearing  the 
word.  I  don't  know  what  it  is  to  believe."  Well,  just 
look  into  that  camp  in  the  desert,  amid  the  groans  of  the 
dying ;  a  pole  is  raised,  a  brazen  serpent  upon  it.    What 


ANECDOTES.  143 

have  the  wounded  to  do  in  order  to  be  healed  ?  Why, 
nothing  but  look!  Look  and  live.  So,  to-night,  you 
have  simply  to  look  to  Jesus.  He  is  held  up  now  before 
your  eyes.  Will  you  have  him  t  During  the  American 
war  a  young  soldier  was  mortally  wounded  by  a  shot, 
which  also  carried  away  part  of  his  hand.  He  asked  for 
a  piece  of  paper  and  pencil,  and  with  his  maimed  hand 
wrote  this : 

*' FATHER,  MEET  ME  IN  HEAVEN;'* 

he  wished  to  sign  his  name,  but  the  pencil  dropped  from 
his  wounded  fingers ;  but  that  letter  was  sealed  with  his 
blood.  Here  it  is :  "  Whosoever  believeth  on  him  hath 
eternal  life." 


A  PERILOUS  ADVENTURE. 

TN  our  country  there  were  two  millers,  who  used  to 
take  charge  of  a  mill  on  a  stream,  the  one  relieving 
the  other.  One  of  them  used  to  row  down  the  stream  at 
night,  within  about  a  hundred  yards  of  the  dam,  hitch 
the  boat,  and  then  go  into  the  mill  and  take  his  com- 
rade's place,  while  he  would  take  the  boat  and  row  up  the 
stream  to  his  home.  One  night,  as  he  was  coming  to 
relieve  the  other  as  usual,  he  fell  asleep,  when  all  of  a 
sudden  the  noise  of  the  waters  rushing  over  the  dam 
woke  him,  and  in  an  instant  he  realized  his  perilous  po- 
sition, and  seizing  the  oars,  began  to  pull  against  the 
current  for  his  life ;  but  it  was  too  late.  He  knew  full 
well  that  if  he  went  over  that  dam,  it  was  sure  and  in- 


144  ANECDOTES. 

stant  destruction.  So  he  tried  to  swing  his  boat  to  the 
shore,  but  nearer  and  nearer  he  went  to  the  dam.  At 
last,  with  a  despairing  effort,  he  got  alongside  the  steep 
and  rocky  bank,  and  laid  hold  of  a  twig.  With  this  he 
tried  to  pull  himself  up,  but  he  felt  it  giving  way,  and  he 
dared  not  try  again,  and  could  not  find  another.  All  he 
could  do  was  to  clutch  it,  and  hold  on  by  it,  and  raise  a 
cry  for  help.  "  Help  !  help  !  help !"  he  shouted.  He  had 
no  other  hope  for  life.  And  when,  at  last,  that  cry  of 
distress  was  heard,  and,  having  heard  it,  ropes  were 
brought  and  anxiously  let  down  over  the  rocks  below 
which  he  was  holding  on,  he  let  go  the  twig.  And  the 
moment  he  let  go  the  twig  and  laid  hold  of  the  ropes, 
they  began  to  pull  away  and  lifted  him  safely  up  out  of 
the  jaws  of  death.  Now,  bear  in  mind,  God  will  always 
hear  your  cry.  God's  ear  has  not  grown  deaf,  nor  his 
arm  grown  short,  that  he  cannot  save.  The  rope  is  as 
long  to-night  as  it  has  ever  been,  and  that  rope  is  Christ 
himself.  Let  go  your  own  twig  and  lay  hold  of  the  rope 
of  eternal  life,  which  is  Christ. 


SURGEON  AND  PATIENT. 

"117 HEN  I  was  in  Belfast  I  knew  a  doctor  who  had  a 
friend,  a  leading  surgeon  there,  and  he  told  me 
that  the  surgeon's  custom  was,  before  performing  any 
operation,  to  say  to  the  patient,  "  Take  a  good  look  at 
the  wound,  and  then  fix  your  eyes  on  me,  and  don't  take 
them  off  till  I  get  through  the  operation."     I  thought  at 


ANECDOTES,  145 

the  time  that  was  a  good  illustration.  Sinner,  take  a 
good  look  at  the  wound  to-night,  and  then  fix  your  eyes 
on  Christ,  and  do  n't  take  them  off.  It  is  better  to  look 
at  the  remedy  than  at  the  wound. 


«  take:' 
T  WAS  on  the  Pacific  coast,  in  California,  two  or  three 
years  ago,  and  I  was  the  guest  of  a  man  that  had  a 
large  vineyard  and  a  large  orchard.  One  day  he  said  to 
me,  "  Moody,  while  you  are  my  guest,  I  want  you  to 
make  yourself  perfectly  happy,  and  if  there  is  anything 
in  the  orchard  or  in  the  vineyard  you  would  like,  help 
yourself."  Wei],  when  I  wanted  an  orange,  I  did  not  go 
to  an  orange-tree  and  pray  the  oranges  to  fall  into  my 
pocket,  but  I  walked  up  to  a  tree,  reached  out  my  hand, 
and  took  the  oranges.  He  said,  "Take,"  and  I  took. 
God  says,  "  Take,"  and  you  do  it.  God  says,  "  There  is 
my  Son."  "  The  wages  of  sin  is  death ;  the  gift  of  God 
is  eternal  life."     Who  will  take  it  now } 


A  CONDEMNED  MAN. 
TT  is  recorded  in  history  of  a  man  that  was  condemned 
to  be  put  to  death,  that  when  he  came  to  lay  his  head 
on  the  block  the  prince  asked  him  if  there  was  any  one 
petition  that  he  could  grant  him  ;  and  all  that  the  con- 
demned man  asked  for  was  a  glass  of  water.  They  went 
and  got  him  a  tumbler  of  water,  and  when  he  got  it  his 
hand  trembled  so  that  he  could  not  get  it  to  his  mouth. 

13 


146  ANECDOTES. 

The  prince  said  to  him,  "  Your  life  is  safe  until  you  drink 
that  water."  He  took  the  prince  at  his  word,  and  dashed 
the  water  to  the  ground.  They  could  not  gather  it  up, 
and  so  he  saved  his  life.  My  friends,  you  can  save  your 
soul  by  taking  God  at  his  word.  The  water  of  life  is 
offered  to  whosoever  will.  Take  it  now,  and  you  shall 
live. 


A 


A  SCOTCH  LASSIE. 

FRIEND  of  mine  up  in  Scotland  told  me  of  a 
Scotch  lassie  who  came  to  the  inquiry-room,  and 
the  minister  talked  with  her,  and  he  said:  "Young 
woman,  you  go  home  and  read  the  53d  chapter  of 
Isaiah."  And  the  Scotch  girl  threw  up  her  hands  and 
said  :  "  I  cannot  read,  I  cannot  pray ;  Jesus,  take  me  as 
I  am."     She  had  got  it. 


MR.  MOODY'S  LITTLE  BOY. 

T  WANTED  to  teach  my  little  boy  what  faith  was  a 
short  time  ago,  and  so  I  put  him  on  a  table  for  he 
was  about  two  years  old.  I  stood  back  three  or  four 
feet,  and  said:  "Willie,  jump."  The  little  fellow  said: 
"  Pa,  I  'se  afraid."  I  said  :  "  Willie,  I  will  catch  you ; 
just  look  right  at  me  and  just  jump ;"  and  the  little  fel- 
low got  all  ready  to  jump,  and  then  looked  down  again 
and  says :  "  I  'se  afraid."  "  Willie,  did  n't  I  tell  you 
I  would  catch  you }  will  pa  deceive  you  }  Now,  Willie, 
look  me  right  in  the  eye  and  jump,  and  I  will  catch  you  ;'* 


ANECDOTES.  147 

and  the  little  fellow  got  all  ready  the  third  time  to  jump, 
but  he  looked  on  the  floor  and  says :  "  I  'se  afraid." 
"  Did  n't  I  tell  you  I  would  catch  you  ?"  "  Yes."  At 
last  I  said  :  "  Willie,  do  n't  take  your  eyes  off  me  ;"  and  I 
gazed  into  the  little  fellow's  eyes,  and  said  :  "  Now  jump  ; 
do  n't  look  at  the  floor ;"  and  he  leaped  into  my  arms. 
Then  he  said  to  me :  "  Let  me  jump  again."  I  put  him 
back,  and  the  moment  he  got  on  the  table  he  jumped, 
and  after  that,  when  he  was  on  the  table,  and  I  was  stand- 
ing five  or  six  feet  away,  I  heard  him  cry,  "  Pa,  "I  'se 
coming,"  and  had  just  time  to  rush  and  catch  him.  He 
seemed  to  put  too  much  confidence  in  me.  But  you 
cannot  put  too  much  confidence  in  God.  Now  faith 
never  looks  down,  it  looks  right  up.  God  says,  "  Trust 
me,"  and  God  will  bring  us  through  all  our  difficulties  if 

we  will  only  trust  him. 

« 

THE  ORPHAN'S  PRA  YER. 
A  LITTLE  child,  whose  father  and  mother  had  died, 
was  taken  into  another  family.  The  first  night 
she  asked  if  she  could  pray,  as  she  used  to  do.  They 
said  :  "  Oh  yes."  So  she  knelt  down,  and  prayed  as 
her  mother  had  taught  her  ;  and,  when  that  was  ended, 
she  added  a  little  prayer  of  her  own :  "  O  God,  make 
these  people  as  kind  to  me  as  father  and  mother  were." 
Then  she  paused,  and  looked  up,  as  if  expecting  the 
answer,  and  added  :  "  Of  course  he  will."  How  sweetly 
simple  was  that  little  one's  faith  ;  she  expected  God  to 
"  do,"  and,  of  course,  she  got  her  request. 


148  ANECDOTES. 


A  CHILD'S  FAITH. 


T  REMEMBER  a  little  child  (she  is  a  young  lady  now) 
who  lived  with  her  parents  in  a  small  village  in  Amer- 
ica. One  day  the  news  came  that  her  father  had  joined 
the  army  (it  was  at  the  beginning  of  our  war),  and  a  few 
days  after  the  landlord  came  to  demand  the  rent.  The 
mother  told  him  that  she  hadn't  got  it,  and  that  her 
husband  had  gone  to  the  army.  He  was  a  hard-hearted 
wretch,  and  he  stormed  and  said  that  they  must  leave 
the  house  ;  he  was  n't  going  to  have  people  who  couldn't 
pay  the  rent.  After  he  was  gone,  the  mother  threw  her- 
self into  the  arm-chair,  and  began  to  weep  bitterly.  Her 
little  girl,  whom  she  had  taught  to  pray  in  faith  (but  it 
is  more  difficult  to  practise  than  to  preach),  came  up  to 
her,  and  said,  "  What  makes  you  cry,  mamma }  I  will 
pray  God  to  give  us  a  little  house,  and  wont  he  i^"  What 
could  the  mother  say.-*  So  the  liitle  child  went  into  the 
next  room  and  began  to  pray.  The  door  was  open,  and 
the  mother  could  hear  every  word.  "  O  God,  you  have 
come  and  taken  away  father,  and  mamma  has  got  no 
money,  and  the  landlord  will  turn  us  out  because  we 
can't  pay,  and  we  will  have  to  sit  on  the  doorstep,  and 
mamma  will  catch  cold.  Give  us  a  little  home."  Then 
she  waited,  as  if  for  an  answer,  and  then  added,  "  Wont 
you,  please,  God  V  She  came  out  of  that  room  quite 
happy,  expecting  a  house  to  be  given  them.  The  mother 
felt  reproved.  I  can  tell  you,  however,  she  has  never 
paid  any  rent  since,  for  God  heard  the  prayoi  of  that 


ANECDOTES.  149 

little  one,  and  touched  the  heart  of  the  cruel  landlord. 
God  give  us  the  faith  of  that  little  child,  that  we  may 
likewise  expect  an  answer,  "  nothing  wavering." 


FAITH  AND  FEELINGS, 

/^NE  night,  when  preaching  in  Philadelphia,  right 
down  by  the  side  of  the  pulpit  there  was  a  young 
lady,  whose  eyes  were  riveted  on  me,  as  if  she  were 
drinking  in  every  word.  It  is  precious  to  preach  to  peo- 
ple like  that ;  they  generally  get  good,  even  if  the  ser- 
mon be  poor.  I  got  interested  in  her,  and  after  I  had 
done  talking  I  went  and  spoke  to  her.  "Are  you  a 
Christian  T  "  No  ;  I  wish  I  was  ;  I  have  been  seeking 
Jesus  for  three  years."  I  said,  "There  must  be  some 
mistake."  She  looked  strangely  at  me,  and  said,  "  Do  n't 
you  believe  me  .-*"  "  Well,  no  doubt  you  thought  you 
were  seeking  Jesus  ;  but  it  do  n't  take  an  anxious  sinner 
three  years  to  meet  a  willing  Saviour."  "  What  am  I  to 
do,  then  V  "  The  matter  is,  you  are  trying  to  do  some- 
thing ;  you  must  just  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
"  Oh,  I  am  sick  and  tired  of  the  word  '  Believe,  believe, 
believe !'  I  do  n't  know  what  it  is."  "  Well,"  I  said, 
"  we  '11  change  the  word ;  take  '  trust.'  "  "  If  I  say,  '  I  '11 
trust  him,*  will  he  save  me.?"  "No;  I  don't  say  that; 
you  may  say  a  thousand  things,  but  he  will  if  you  do 
trust  him."  "  Well,"  she  said,  "  I  do  trust  him ;  but," 
she  added  in  the  same  breath,  "I  don't  feel  any  better." 
"  Ah,  I  've  got  it  now !    You  've  been  looking  for  feelings 

13» 


\ 


I50  ANECDOTES, 

for  three  years,  instead  of  for  Jesus.  Faith  is  up  above, 
not  down  here."  People  are  always  looking  for  feelings. 
They  are  getting  up  a  new  translation  of  the  Bible  here, 
and  if  the  men  who  are  translating  it  would  only  put  in 
feelings^  instead  oi  faith,  what  a  rush  there  would  be  for 
that  Bible.  But  if  you  look  from  Genesis  to  Revelation 
you  cannot  find  feelings  attached  to  salvation.  We  must 
rise  above  feelings.  So  I  said  to  this  lady,  "  You  cannot 
control  your  feelings ;  if  you  could,  what  a  time  you  'd 
have !  I  know  I  would  never  have  the  toothache  or  the 
headache." 


THE  RIGHT  KIND  OF  FAITH. 

C  UPPOSE  I  should  meet  a  person  to-night  when  I  go 
away  from  here,  a  person  that  I  had  met  in  rags 
every  day,  and  should  see  him  all  dressed  up,  and  should 
say  to  him,  "Holloa,  beggar!"  "Why,  Mr.  Moody,  I 
a'  n't  no  beggar  ;  /  a'  n't."  "  Well,  you  were  last  night. 
I  know  you.  You  asked  me  for  money."  "  True,  but  I 
was  standing  here,  and  a  man  came  along  and  put  ten 
thousand  dollars  in  my  hand,  real  money,  and  I  've  got  it 
in  the  bank  now."  "  How  do  you  know  you  stretched 
out  the  right  hand  to  take  it .''"  "  Hand !  what  do  I 
care  which  hand !  I  've  got  the  money,  I  have !"  And 
so  people  talk  about  the  right  kind  of  faith.  Any  kind 
of  faith  will  do  that  will  get  the  good.  There  would  be 
no  trouble  about  peace  and  happiness  if  men  had  faith 
in  Christ. 


ANECDOTES.  151 

5.  REGENERATION. 


"If  any  man  be  in  Christ  Jesus,  he  is  a  new  creature." 

REGENERATION  THE  FOUNDATION  OF  CHRIS- 
TIAN  EXPERIENCE. 

XT  is  the  A  B  C  of  God's  salvation.  If  a  man  is  un- 
sound on  regeneration,  he  is  unsound  on  everything. 
It  is  really  the  foundation-stone  of  Christian  character ; 
and  we  must  get  the  foundation  right.  If  we  don't, 
what  is  the  good  of  trying  to  build  a  house }  Now, 
Christ  says  plainly,  "  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he 
cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God."  But  although  regen- 
eration, or  the  new  birth,  is  taught  so  plainly  in  the  third 
chapter  of  John,  I  do  n't  believe  there  is  any  truth  in  the 
whole  Bible  that  there  is  such  great  darkness  about  as 
this  great  truth.  There  are  a  great  many  like  the  man 
who  saw  men  as  trees  walking.  Many  Christians  do  not 
seem  to  be  clear  about  this  new  birth. 


REGENERATION  A  MYSTERY. 

A  GREAT  many  men  try  to  investigate  and  find  out 
God.  Suppose  you  spend  a  little  of  your  time  in 
asking  God  to  reveal  himself  to  you.  I  heard  some 
time  ago  of  some  commercial  travellers  who  went  to  hear 
a  man  preach.  They  came  back  to  the  hotel,  and  were 
sitting  in  the  smoking-room  talking,  and  they  said  the 
minister  did  not  appeal  to  their  reason,  and  they  would 


152  ANECDOTES. 

not  believe  anything  they  could  not  reason  out.  There 
was  an  old  man  sitting  there  listening,  and  he  said  to 
them:  "You  say  you  wont  believe  anything  you.  can't 
reason  out  ?'*  "  No,  we  wont."  The  old  man  then  said, 
"  As  I  was  coming  in  the  train  yesterday,  I  noticed  some 
sheep  and  cattle  and  swine  and  geese,  all  eating  grass. 
Now,  can  you  tell  me  by  what  process  that  same  grass 
is  turned  into  feathers,  hair,  bristles,  and  wool  ?"  "Well, 
no,  we  can't  just  tell  you  that."  "Do  you  believe  it  is  a 
fact  T  "  Oh  yes,  it  is  a  fact."  "  I  thought  you  said  you 
would  not  believe  anything  you  could  not  reason  out  T 
"  Well,  we  can't  help  believing  that ;  that  is  a  fact  we 
see  before  our  eyes."  "  Truly,  on  the  same  ground,"  said 
the  old  man,  "  I  can't  help  but  believe  in  regeneration, 
and  a  man  being  converted,  although  I  cannot  explain 
how  God  converted  him." 


EFFECTS  OF  REGENERATION, 

TT  may  be  that  I  am  talking  now  to  some  poor 
drunkard.  When  he  comes  into  his  house  his  chil- 
dren listen,  and  hear  by  the  footfall  that  their  father  is 
coming  home  drunk,  and  the  little  things  run  away  and 
hide  from  him  as  if  he  were  some  horrid  demon.  His 
wife  begins  to  tremble.  Many  a  time  has  that  great, 
strong  arm  been  brought  down  on  her  weak,  defenceless 
body.  Many  a  day  has  she  carried  about  marks  from 
that  man's  violence.  He  ought  to  be  her  protector,  sup- 
port, and  stay  ;  but  he  has  become  her  tormentor.     His 


ANECDOTES,  153 

home  is  like  hell  upon  earth;  there  is  no  joy  there. 
There  may  be  one  such  here  to-night  who  hears  the 
good  news  that  he  can  be  born  again,  and  receive  a 
nature  from  heaven,  and  receive  the  Spirit  of  God.  God 
will  give  him  power  to  hurl  the  infernal  cup  from  him. 
God  will  give  him  grace  to  trample  Satan  under  his  feet, 
and  the  drunkard  will  then  become  a  sober  man.  Go  to 
that  house  three  months  hence,  and  you  will  find  it  neat 
and  clean.  As  you  draw  near  that  home  you  will  hear 
singing ;  not  the  noise  of  the  drunkard,  that  is  gone ;  all 
things  have  become  new;  for  he  has  been  born  of  God, 
and  is  singing  one  of  the  songs  of  Zion — 

"  Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me, 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  thee." 

Or  perhaps  he  is  singing  that  good  old  hymn  that  his 
mother  taught  him  when  he  was  a  little  boy — 

"  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood 
Drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins ; 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood 
Lose  all  their  guilty  stains." 

He  has  become  a  child  of  God  and  an  heir  of  heaven. 
His  children  are  climbing  upon  his  knees,  and  he  has 
his  arms  around  their  neck.  That  dark  home  is  now 
changed  into  a  little  Bethel  on  earth.  God  dwells  there 
now.  Yes,  God  has  done  all  that,  and  that  is  regener- 
ation. 


154  ANECDOTES. 

FREE!  FREE! 

"VrOU  know  that  in  the  British  Colonies,  before  the 
time  of  Wilberforce,  there  used  to  be  a  great  many 
slaves;  but  that  good  man  began  to  agitate  the  ques- 
tion of  setting  them  free;  and  all  the  slaves  in  the 
Colonies,  when  they  heard  of  it,  were  very  anxious  to 
know  how  he  was  getting  along.  They  knew  the  bill 
was  before  Pailiament;  and  with  them  it  was  a  question 
next  to  that  of  life  itself.  But  in  those  days  there  were 
no  telegraphs  and  no  steamships.  The  mails  went  by 
the  slow  sailing-vessels.  They  would  be  from  six  to 
eight  months  in  making  a  voyage  to  some  of  the  more 
distant  of  the  Colonies.  The  slaves  used  to  watch  for 
the  white  sails  of  British  ships,  hoping  to  hear  good  news, 
but  fearing  they  might  hear  bad  news.  There  was  a  ship 
which  had  sailed  immediately  after  the  Emancipation 
Act  had  been  passed  and  signed  by  the  king,  and  when 
she  came  within  hailing  distance  of  the  boats  which  had 
put  off  from  the  shore  at  the  port  where  she  was  bound, 
the  captain  could  not  wait  to  deliver  the  message  offi- 
cially, and  have  it  duly  promulgated  by  the  Government ; 
but,  seeing  the  poor,  anxious  men  standing  up  in  their 
boats,  eager  for  the  news,  he  placed  his  trumpet  to  his 
mouth,  and  shouted  with  all  his  might :  "  Free  !  Free  !" 
Just  so  the  angels  shout  when  the  poor  bondman  of 
Satan,  almost  in  the  jaws  of  the  pit,  is  taken  in  hand  by 
the  Saviour  himself  and  delivered  from  the  bondage  of 
darkness,  into  the  liberty  of  God's  dear  Son.     Free — 


ANECDOTES.  155 

free  from  sin — free  from  the  curse  of  the  law — free  now, 
and  in  a  little  while  free  from  the  bonds  of  the  flesh  as 
well. 


/  AM  MARRIED  UNTO  YOU. 

T  N  the  Old  Testament  the  Lord  uses  this  expression : 
"  I  am  married  unto  you."  Jer.  3  :  14.  Paul  uses 
the  same  figure  in  his  epistles,  as  in  Romans  7 : 4,  in 
setting  forth  the  union  between  Christ  and  his  church. 
Now,  it  is  an  illustration  you  can  all  understand.  When 
a  man  offers  himself  the  woman  must  do  either  of  two 
things — either  receive  or  reject  him.  So  every  soul 
must  do  one  of  these  two  things — "receive"  or  "reject" 
Christ.  Well,  if  you  receive  him,  that  is  all  you  have  to 
do,  he  has  promised  the  rest.  There  was  a  shop-girl  in 
Chicago  a  few  years  ago ;  one  day  she  could  not  have 
bought  a  pound's  worth  of  anything ;  the  next  day  she 
could  go  and  buy  a  thousand  pounds'  worth  of  whatever 
she  wanted.  What  made  the  difference  1  Why,  she  had 
married  a  rich  husband ;  that  was  all.  '  She  had  accepted 
him,  and,  of  course,  all  he  had  became  hers.  And  so 
you  can  have  everything,  if  you  only  receive  Christ. 
Remember,  you  can  have  no  power  without  him ;  you 
will  fail,  constantly,  until  you  receive  him  into  your 
heart ;  and  I  have  Scripture  authority  to  say  that  Christ 
will  receive  every  soul  that  will  only  come  to  him. 


156  ANECDOTES, 

THE  SLA  VES  AND  THE  NORTH  STAR. 

TN  our  country  before  the  war,  when  we  had  slavery, 
the  slaves  escaping  used  to  keep  their  eye  on  the 
north  star.  If  a  slave  fled  to  the  Northern  states  the 
slave-master  could  come  and  take  him  back  in  slavery. 
But  there  was  another  flag  on  American  soil,  and  if  they 
could  only  get  under  that  flag  they  were  for  ever  free. 
It  is  called  the  Union  Jack.  If  they  could  only  get  to 
Canada  they  were  safe,  and  therefore  their  eye  was 
always  looking  towards  the  north  star.  They  knew  if 
they  got  into  the  Northern  states  there  would  be  some 
men  ready  to  take  them  back.  So  it  is  with  every  poor 
sinner  who  wants  to  come  to  Christ.  Many  men  do  all 
they  can  to  hinder  him ;  others  cheer  him  on.  Let  us 
help  every  man  towards  the  north  star.  Well,  to  give 
you  a  picture  of  what  used  to  occur,  the  moment  a  man 
has  escaped,  perhaps  he  swims  across  the  Mississippi, 
or  crosses  the  Ohio  river  in  a  little  canoe.  The  master 
hears  of  it,  and  he  takes  his  hounds  and  sends  them  on 
the  track,  and  begins  to  hunt  him  down.  The  slave 
hears  the  hounds  ;  they  have  their  nose  upon  his  scent, 
and  his  master  is  coming  to  take  him  back.  What  does 
he  do }  He  escapes  as  fast  as  he  can.  He  makes  his 
way  for  the  frontier,  over  hedges,  bridges,  and  rivers  ; 
away  he  goes  for  Canada,  day  and  night.  He  works 
hard,  and  he  does  not  eat  much.  He  is  in  the  greatest 
haste  to  get  liberty.  By-and-by  he  comes  in  sight  of 
Canada.     He  can  see  that  flag  floating  in  front  of  him. 


ANECDOTES. 


m 


and  he  knows  that  if  he  can  only  cross  the  line  before 
his  master  and  the  hounds  overtake  him,  he  will  be  free. 
The  poor  black  man  runs  on  with  all  his  might,  and  at 
last  with  one  bound  he  goes  over  the  line.  He  is  a  free 
man  now.  One  minute  he  is  a  slave  ;  the  next  minute 
he  is  a  free  man  under  the  flag  of  Queen  Victoria — the 
British  flag ;  and  your  Parliament  says  that  no  man  un- 
der that  flag  shall  be  a  bondman.  One  minute  he  is 
liable  for  the  old  master  to  drag  him  back ;  the  next 
minute  he  shouts :  "  Free !"  If  Christ  tells  us  that  we 
are  free,  we  are  free. 

BORN  A  CHRISTIAN 
TN  the  inquiry-room,  a  person  came  in,  and  I  said,  "  Are 
you  a  Christian  T  "  Why,"  says  she,  "  of  course  I 
am."  "  Well,"  I  said,  "  how  long  have  you  been  one  V 
"  O  sir,  I  was  born  one  !"  '*  Oh,  indeed  !  then  I  am  very 
glad  to  take  you  by  the  hand ;  I  congratulate  you ;  you 
are  the  first  woman  I  ever  met  who  was  born  a  Chris- 
tian; you  are  more  fortunate  than  others;  they  are  born 
children  of  Adam,"  She  hesitated  a  little,  and  then  tried 
to  make  out  that,  because  she  was  born  in  England,  she 
was  a  Christian.  There  are  a  great  many  have  the  idea, 
that  because  they  are  born  in  a  Christian  country,  they 
have  been  born  of  the  Spirit.  Now,  in  the  third  chap- 
ter of  John,  the  new  birth  is  brought  out  so  plainly,  that 
if  any  one  will  read  it  carefully  and  prayerfully,  I  think 
his  eyes  will  soon  be  opened.  That  which  is  born  of  the 
flesh  is  flesh ;  it  remains  flesh ;  and  that  which  is  born 

14 


158  ANECDOTES. 

of  the  Spirit  is  spirit,  and  remains  spirit.  So,  when  a 
man  is  born  of  God,  he  has  God's  nature.  When  a  man 
is  born  of  his  parents,  he  receives  their  nature,  and  they 
receive  the  nature  of  their  parents,  and  you  can  trace  it 
back  to  Adam.  But  when  a  man  is  born  of  God,  or  born 
from  above,  or  born  of  the  Spirit,  he  receives  God's  na- 
ture, and  then  it  is  he  leaves  the  lite  of  the  flesh  for  the 
life  of  the  spirit. 

CUT  THE  CORD. 
T  ONCE  heard  of  two  men  who,  under  the  influence  of 
liquor,  came  down  one  night  to  where  their  boat  was 
tied ;  they  wanted  to  return  home,  so  they  got  in  and 
began  to  row.  When  the  gray  dawn  of  morning  broke, 
behold,  they  had  never  loosed  the  mooring  line  or  raised 
the  anchor !  And  that 's  just  the  way  with  many  who  are 
striving  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  They  cannot 
believe,  because  they  are  tied  to  this  world.  Cut  the 
cord  !  cut  the  cord  !  Set  yourselves  free  from  the  clog- 
ging weight  of  earthly  things,  and  you  will  soon  go  on 
towards  heaven. 


HAVE  YOU  GOT  THE  TOKEN? 
'T^HE  first  thing  is  to  know  you  are  sprinkled  with  the 
atoning  blood.  You  go  to  a  railway  station,  and 
you  buy  a  ticket,  and  get  into  a  carriage ;  and  the  guard 
comes  round  and  cries,  "  Tickets,"  and  you  put  your  hand 
in  your  pocket  and  pull  out  the  ticket,  and  present  that 
to  the  man ;  but  the  guard  does  not  look  to  see  if  you 


ANECDOTES,  159 

are  a  white  man  or  a  black,  learned  or  unlearned,  great 
or  small.  He  does  not  know,  perhaps,  who  you  are,  or 
what  you  are;  but  he  looks  for  the  token.  Oh,  my 
friends,  God  says,  "  If  you  have  got  the  token  I  will  pass 
over  you."  Have  you  got  the  token  }  That  is  the  ques- 
tion— the  solemn  question.     Exodus  12:13. 


THE  TELEGRAM, 
A  LADY  friend  of  mine  was  starting  from  England, 
with  others,  for  America,  and  when  she  got  to  Liv- 
erpool all  her  friends  wanted  to  go  to  the  same  hotel, 
but  it  was  full,  and  they  had  to  go  away ;  but  she  had 
been  thoughtful  enough  to  take  precautions,  and  had 
sent  a  telegram  and  engaged  her  room  before.  Let  the 
news  go  up  on  high  that  you  want  a  mansion  there,  and 
write  down  your  name  in  the  book.  Drop  everything 
else  till  you  are  sure  that  your  names  are  written  in  the 
Book  of  Life ;  make  up  your  minds  that  you  will  neither 
eat  nor  sleep  till  this  great  question  for  time  and  eternity 
is  settled. 


i6o  ANECDOTES. 


IV -ILLUSTI^ATI0N3  Of  F(ELiqiOUS 

experience;. 


I.  SORROWS. 

HARD  UP. 

AX  7 HEN  I  first  went  to  Boston  my  money  was  soon 
gone,  and  my  circumstances  were  getting  desper- 
ate. Although  there  was  but  one  mail  a  day,  I  went 
three  times  a  day  to  the  postoffice  to  see  if  there  was  a 
letter  from  my  sister,  and  I  was  awfully  glad  at  last  to 
get  it.  She  had  heard  that  there  were  a  great  many 
pickpockets  in  Boston,  and  a  large  part  of  that  letter  was 
an  exhortation  to  be  very  careful  not  to  let  anybody  pick 
my  pocket.  Now,  this  was  rather  a  good  joke,  for,  at 
that  time,  I  had  first  to  get  something  in  my  pocket  be- 
fore it  could  be  picked. 


HUGGING  THE  BURDEN 
a  CURELY  He  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried  our 
sorrows."  Glorious,  is  it  not,  to  know  we  have 
such  a  Saviour.^  Can  you  believe  that  he  has  lifted 
your  burden  off  your  shoulders  on  to  his  own }  Then 
you  will  feel  light  in  heart.  On  one  occasion  after  I  had 
been  talking  this  way,  a  woman  came  forward  and  said, 
*'0  Mr,  Moody,  it's  all  very  well  for  you  to  talk  like 


ANECDOTES.  i6i 

that,  about  a  light  heart.  But  you  are  a  young  man,  and 
if  you  had  a  heavy  burden  like  me,  you  would  talk  dif- 
ferently. I  cannot  talk  in  that  way,  my  burden  is  too 
great."  I  replied,  "But  it's  not  too  great  for  Jesus." 
"  Oh,"  she  said,  "  I  cannot  cast  it  on  him."  "  Why  not } 
Surely  it  is  not  too  great  for  him.  It  is  not  that  he  is 
feeble.  But  it  is  because  you  will  not  leave  it  with  him. 
You  go  about  hugging  your  burden,  and  yet  crying  out 
against  it.  What  the  Lord  wants  is  that  you  leave  it 
with  him,  to  let  him  carry  it  for  you.  Then  you  will 
have  a  light  heart,  sorrow  will  flee  away,  and  there  will 
be  no  more  sighing.  What  is  your  burden,  my  friend, 
that  you  cannot  leave  it  with  Christ  T  She  replied,  "  I 
have  a  son  who  is  a  wanderer  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 
None  but  God  knows  where  he  is."  "  Cannot  Christ  find 
him,  and  bring  him  back  T  "  I  suppose  he  can."  "Then, 
go  and  tell  Jesus,  and  ask  him  to  forgive  you  for  doubt- 
ing his  power  and  willingness ;  you  have  no  right  to  mis- 
trust him."  She  went  away  much  comforted,  and  I  be- 
lieve she  ultimately  had  her  wandering  boy  restored  to 
her! 


COMFORT  IN  BEREA  VEMENT. 
A  FRIEND  of  mine,  who  had  been  in  Eastern  lands, 
'^^  told  me  he  saw  a  shepherd  who  wanted  his  flock  to 
cross  a  river.  He  went  into  the  water  himself  and  called 
them  ;  but  no,  they  would  not  follow  him  into  water.  What 
did  he  do }  Why,  he  girded  up  his  loins,  and  lifted  a 
little  lamb  under  each  arm,  and  plunged  right  into  the 


1 


i62  ANECDOTES. 

stream,  and  crossed  it  without  even  looking  back. 
When  he  lifted  the  lambs  the  old  sheep  looked  up  into 
his  face  and  began  to  bleat  for  them ;  but  when  he 
plunged  into  the  water  the  dams  plunged  after  him,  and 
then  the  whole  flock  followed.  When  they  got  to  the 
other  side  he  put  down  the  lambs,  and  they  were  quickly 
joined  by  their  mothers,  and  there  was  a  happy  meeting. 
Our  great  Divine  Shepherd  does  this.  Your  child  which 
he  has  taken  from  the  earth  is  but  removed  to  the  green 
pastures  of  Canaan,  and  the  shepherd  means  to  draw 
your  hearts  after  it,  to  teach  you  to  "  set  your  affections 
on  things  above."  When  he  has  taken  your  little  Mary, 
Edith,  or  John,  accept  it  as  a  call  to  look  upward  and 
beyond.  You,  mother,  are  you  weeping  bitter  tears  for 
your  little  one  t  Do  not  weep  !  Your  child  has  gone 
to  the  place  where  there  is  neither  weeping  nor  sorrow. 
Would  you  have  it  return  }     Surely,  never. 


GOD  LOVES  WHOM  HE  CHASTENS. 
TV  T  Y  text  is,  "  God  is  Love,"  words  that  blaze  in  gas 
jets  over  the  pulpit  of  my  Chicago  church.  I 
shall  dwell  particularly  upon  God's  chastening  those 
whom  he  loves,  and  chastening  them  because  he  loves 
them,  and,  as  an  illustration,  I  will  tell  you  a  story  con- 
cerning my  own  little  girl.  She  was  only  six  or  seven 
years  old,  and  as  bright  and  merry  as  could  be ;  but  she 
fell  into  the  habit  of  getting  up  cross  in  the  morning,  and 
speaking  rudely  to  her  mother  and  brother.     I  told  her 


ANECDOTES.  163 

at  last  that  she  must  be  punished,  unless  she  conquered 
her  habit.  But  one  morning,  while  I  was  dressing,  I 
heard  her  little  voice  impatiently  chiding  my  wife.  After 
breakfast,  when  it  was  time  for  her  to  go  to  school,  she 
stepped  up  to  give  me  a  morning  kiss;  but  I  gently 
pushed  her  aside,  telling  her  she  could  not  kiss  me.  The 
corners  of  her  tiny  mouth  dropped.  Tears  welled  up 
into  her  eyes,  and  my  heart  was  almost  bursting.  Slowly 
and  sadly  she  left  the  room,  without  a  trace  of  that 
childish  life  in  her  steps  that  belonged  to  her  age.  She 
met  her  mother  in  the  hall,  and,  with  sobs  choking  her 
voice,  cried :  "  O  mamma,  mamma,  papa  will  not  kiss 
me !  Ask  him  if  he  wont."  But  when  the  mother 
pleaded  with  me  I  remained  firm,  and  my  little  girl 
dragged  her  steps  wearily  down  the  street.  It  was  the 
first  morning  that  I  ever  refused  to  kiss  her,  and  as  I 
stood  in  the  window  I  wept  while  watching  her  retreating 
figure.  It  seemed  to  me  that  I  had  never  loved  her  so 
well  before — so  strongly,  for  I  punished  her  through  my 
own  suffering.  That  day  was  a  long  one  to  me,  though 
I  hurried  home  long  before  the  usual  hour,  to  be  there 
when  she  returned  from  school.  I  sat  in  the  same  place 
where  she  had  left  me,  and  she  came  timidly  and  sadly 
to  me,  threw  herself  in  my  arms,  and  cried,  "  Papa,  will 
you  forgive  me  .-*'*  I  printed  a  kiss  on  her  little  lips,  and 
she  knew  that  she  had  not  lost  her  father  s  love,  and  in 
her  simple  understanding  she  knew  that  I  had  not  pun- 
ished her  through  hate. 


i64  ANECDOTES. 

2.  SANCTIFICATION  AND  THE  HIGHER  LIFE. 

♦ 

GROWING  IN  GRACE. 

'T^O  illustrate  how  a  Christian  may  become  different  to 
what  he  was  at  first,  I  may  relate  the  following 
anecdote :  When  I  was  at  Mr.  Spurgeon's  house  he 
showed  me  the  photographs  of  his  two  sons  who  were 
twins,  and  whose  photographs  had  been  taken  every  year 
since  they  were  twelve  months  old  until  they  were  seven- 
teen years  old.  For  the  first  two  years  they  did  not  seem 
to  have  grown  much,  but  when  we  compared  the  first 
with  those  of  the  age  of  seventeen  they  seemed  to  have 
grown  amazingly.  So  it  is  with  the  children  of  God — 
they  grow  in  grace.  A  great  many  people  talk  about 
others  being  unsound  in  faith.  I  believe  that  one  of  the 
graces  which  require  cultivation  is  more  love  to  the 
Master,  more  love  to  one  another,  more  love  for  a  perish- 
ing world,  and  more  love  for  the  lost.  There  are  two 
lives  that  every  Christian  should  live.  One  life  he  should 
live  alone  with  God — a  life  that  nobody  but  God  and 
himself  knows — that  inner  life,  that  constant  commun- 
ion whereby  he  draws  strength  from  God  ;  and  the  other 
the  outer  life  before  the  world,  adorning  the  doctrine  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

UP  IN  A  BALLOON. 
/CONTRASTING  the  importance  of  earthly  and  heav- 
enly  cares,  Mr.  Moody  said :  "  When  men  going  up 
in  a  balloon  have  ascended  a  little  height,  things  down  here 


ANECDOTES,  165 

begin  to  look  very  small  indeed.  What  had  seemed  very 
grand  and  imposing  now  seem  as  mere  nothings ;  and 
the  higher  they  rise  the  smaller  everything  on  earth  ap- 
pears ;  it  gets  fainter  and  fainter  as  they  rise,  till  the 
railway  train,  dashing  along  at  fifty  miles  an  hour,  looks 
like  a  thread,  and  scarcely  appears  to  be  moving  at  all, 
and  the  grand  piles  of  buildings  seem  now  like  mere 
dots.  So  it  is  when  we  get  near  heaven ;  earth's  treas- 
ures, earth's  cares,  look  very  small." 


ON  THE  MOUNTAIN-TOP. 

T  WILL  tell  you  what  happened  to  me  some  time  ago, 
when  I  was  out  West.  I  wanted  to  reach  the  summit 
of  one  of  the  western  mountains.  I  had  been  told  that 
sunrise  was  very  beautiful  when  seen  from  the  summit. 
~We  got  up  to  the  halfway-house  one  afternoon,  where 
we  were  to  rest  till  midnight,  and  then  set  out  for  the 
top.  Soon  a  little  party  of  us  started  with  a  good  guide. 
Before  a  great  while  it  began  to  rain,  and  then  it  became 
a  regular  storm  of  thunder  and  lightning.  I  thought 
there  was  little  use  in  going  on,  and  said  to  the  guide, 
"  Guess  we  'd  better  turn  back ;  we  wont  see  anything 
this  morning,  with  all  these  clouds."  "  Oh,"  said  the 
guide,  "  I  expect  we  '11  soon  get  through  these  clouds, 
and  get  above  them,  and  then  we'll  have  a  glorious 
view."  So  we  went  on,  while  the  thunders  were  rum- 
bling right  about  our  ears.  But  soon  we  began  to  get 
above  the  thunder-cloud  ;  the  air  was  quite  clear,  and 


Of  ZHS 

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/>. 


1 66  ANECDOTES, 

when  the  sun  rose  we  had  a  splendid  view  of  his  rays  as 
they  tinged  the  hill-tops  ;  and  then,  as  the  glorious  sun- 
shine began'  to  break  on  where  we  stood,  we  could  see 
the  dark  cloud  far  beneath  us.  That 's  what  God's  peo- 
ple want — to  get  into  the  clear  air  above  the  stormy 
clouds,  and  to  climb  higher  away  up  to  the  mountain- 
peak.  There  you  '11  catch  the  first  rays  from  the  Sun  of 
righteousness  far  above  the  clouds  and  mists. 


KEEP  THE  LOWER  LIGHTS  BURNING. 

A  FEW  years  ago  at  the  mouth  of  Cleveland  harbor 
^^  there  were  two  lights,  one  at  each  side  of  the  bay, 
called  the  upper  and  lower  lights  ;  and  to  enter  the  har- 
bor safely  by  night,  vessels  must  sight  both  of  the  lights. 
These  western  lakes  are  more  dangerous  sometimes  than 
the  great  ocean.  One  wild,  stormy  night,  a  steamer  was 
trying  to  make  her  way  into  the  harbor.  The  captain 
and  pilot  were  anxiously  watching  for  the  lights.  By- 
and-by  the  pilot  was  heard  to  say,  "  Do  you  see  the  lower 
lights  ?"  '•  No,"  was  the  reply ;  "  I  fear  we  have  passed 
them."  "  Ah,  there  are  the  lights,"  said  the  pilot ;  "  and 
they  must  be,  from  the  bluff  on  which  they  stand,  the 
upper  lights.  We  have  passed  the  lower  lights,  and 
have  lost  our  chance  of  getting  into  the  harbor."  What 
was  to  be  done  .-*  They  looked  back,  and  saw  the  dim 
outline  of  the  lower  lighthouse  against  the  sky.  The 
lights  had  gone  out.  "  Can't  you  turn  her  head  round  T' 
*'  No ;  the  night  is  too  wild  for  that.     She  wont  answer 


ANECDOTES,  167 

to  her  helm."  The  storm  was  so  fearful  that  they  could 
do  nothing.  They  tried  again  to  make  for  the  harbor, 
but  they  went  crash  against  the  rocks,  and  sank  to  the 
bottom.  Very  few  escaped  ;  the  great  majority  found  a 
watery  grave.  Why }  Simply  because  the  lower  lights 
had  gone  out.  Now  with  us  the  upper  lights  are  all 
right.  Christ  himself  is  the  upper  light,  and  we  are  the 
lower  lights,  and  the  cry  to  us  is,  Keep  the  lower  lights 
burning ;  that  is  what  we  have  to  do.  In  the  place  God 
has  put  us  he  expects  us  to  shine,  to  be  living  witnesses, 
to  be  a  bright  and  shining  light.  While  we  are  here  our 
work  is  to  shine  for  him,  and  he  will  lead  us  safe  to  the 
sunlit  shore  of  Canaan,  where  there  is  no  more  night. 


THE  BLIND  MANS  LANTERN. 

/^UT  West  a  friend  of  mine  was  walking  along  one  of 
the  streets  one  dark  night,  and  saw  approaching 
him  a  man  with  a  lantern.  As  he  came  up  close  to  him 
he  noticed  by  the  bright  light  that  the  man  seemed  as  if 
he  had  no  eyes.  He  went  past,  but  the  thought  struck 
him,  "  Surely  that  man  is  blind."  He  turned  around  and 
said,  "My  friend,  are  you  not  blind.?"  "Yes."  "Then 
what  have  you  got  the  lantern  for .?"  "  I  carry  the  lan- 
tern that  people  may  not  stumble  over  me,  of  course," 
said  the  blind  man.  Let  us  take  a  lesson  from  that  blind 
man,  and  hold  up  our  light,  burning  with  the  clear  ra- 
diance of  heaven,  that  men  may  not  stumble  over  us. 


I 


i68  ANECDOTES, 


A  LEAF  OF  AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

T  ET  me  give  you  a  leaf  out  of  my  experience.  When 
I  was  in  Boston  I  used  to  attend  a  Sunday-school 
class,  and  one  day  I  recollect  a  Sabbath-school  teacher 
came  round  behind  the  counter  of  the  shop  I  used  to 
work  in,  and  put  his  hand  on  my  shoulder  and  talked  to 
me  about  Christ  and  my  soul.  I  had  not  felt  I  had  a 
soul  till  then.  I  said,  "  This  is  a  very  strange  thing : 
here  is  a  man  who  never  saw  me  till  within  a  few  days, 
and  he  is  weeping  over  my  sins,  and  I  never  shed  a  tear 
about  them."  But  I  understand  it  now,  and  know  what 
it  is  to  have  a  passion  for  men's  souls  and  weep  over 
their  sins,  I  don't  remember  what  he  said,  but  I  can 
feel  the  power  of  that  young  man's  hand  on  my  shoulder 
to-night.  Young  Christian  men,  go  and  lay  your  hand 
on  your  comrade's  shoulder  and  point  him  to  Jesus  to- 
night. Well,  he  got  me  up  to  the  school,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  I  was  brought  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  I 
went  thousands  of  miles  away  after  that,  but  I  often 
thought  I  should  like  to  see  that  man  again.  Time 
rolled  on,  and  at  length  I  was  at  Boston  again  ;  and  I 
recollect,  one  night  when  I  was  preaching  there,  a  fine, 
noble-looking  young  man  came  up  the  aisle  and  said,  "  I 
should  like  to  speak  with  you,  Mr.  Moody ;  I  have  often 
heard  my  father  talk  about  you."  "  Who  is  your  father  .?" 
I  asked.  "  Edward  Kemble,"  was  the  reply.  "  What !" 
said  I,  "my  old  Sunday-school  teacher.?"  I  asked  him 
his  name,  and  he  said  it  was  Henry,  and  that  he  was  sev- 


ANECDOTES.  169 

enteen  years  of  age.  I  tried  to  put  my  hand  on  his  shoul- 
der just  where  his  father  did  on  my  shoulder,  and  I  said 
to  him,  "You  are  just  as  old  as  I  was  when  your  father 
put  his  hand  on  my  shoulder.  Are  you  a  Christian, 
JHenry  V  "  No,  sir,"  he  said ;  and  as  I  talked  to  him 
about  his  soul  with  my  hand  on  his  shoulder,  the  tears 
began  to  trickle  down.  **  Come,"  said  I,  "  I  will  show 
you  how  you  can  be  saved,"  and  I  took  him  into  a  pew 
and  quoted  promise  after  promise  to  him.  And  I  went 
on  praying  with  him,  but  as  he  did  not  get  light,  I  read 
to  him  the  fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah:  "All  we  like 
sheep  have  gone  astray."  "  Do  you  believe  that,  Henry  .^" 
"  Yes,  sir,  I  know  that 's  true."  " '  We  have  turned  every 
one  to  his  own  way.'  Is  that  true  .^"  "Yes,  sir,  that's 
true,  and  that 's  what  troubles  me :  I  like  my  own  way." 
"  But  there  is  another  sentence  yet,  Henry :  *  The  Lord 
hath  laid  on  Him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.'  Do  you  believe 
that,  Henry.?"  "No,  I  do  not,  sir.".  "Now,"  I  said, 
"  why  should  you  take  a  verse  of  God's  word  and  cut  it 
in  two,  and  believe  one  part  and  not  another.  Here  are 
two  things  against  you,  and  you  believe  them ;  and  here 
is  one  in  your  favor,  but  you  wont  believe  that.  What 
authority  have  you  for  serving  God's  word  in  that  way  .'*" 
"  Well,"  he  said,  "  Mr.  Moody,  if  I  believed  that  I  should 
be  saved."  "  I  know  you  would,"  I  replied,  "  and  that 's 
exactly  what  I  want  you  to  do.  But  you  take  the  bitter, 
and  wont  have  the  sweet  with  it."  So  I  held  him  to  that 
little  word  hath — "  He  hath  laid  on  Him  the  iniquity  of 

us  all."  ,. 

15 


I70  ANECDOTES. 

A  CHILD  SA  VED. 

T  KNOW  a  young  lady  who  was  sent  to  a  fashionable 
boarding-school,  where  she  met  one  faithful  Chris- 
tian, whose  example  and  influence  led  to  her  conversion. 
When  she  returned  home,  her  parents  were  annoyed  to 
find  her  a  Christian,  for  they  wanted  her  to  mingle  in 
what  is  called  the  first  classes.  She  went  to  the  Sun- 
day-school of  her  church,  and  asked  the  superintendent 
for  a  class ;  but  he,  who  only  thought  her  a  frivolous, 
fashion-seeking  girl,  did  not  give  her  what  she  asked. 
So  she  picked  up  a  little  street  Arab,  and,  hand  in  hand, 
walked  him  into  the  Sunday-school  room,  and  asked  the 
superintendent  for  permission  to  have  her  little  boy  to 
teach  all  by  himself,  which  was  granted.  When  that  boy 
heard  the  children  sing,  it  took  him  off  his  feet,  as  the 
saying  is,  and  on  his  return  to  his  home  he  told  his 
mother  that  he  had  been  among  the  angels.  She  ques- 
tioned him,  and  said,  "That  was  a  Protestant  Sunday- 
school  ;  do  n't  go  there  any  more,  or  I  '11  tell  your  father." 
But  he  went  next  Sunday,  and  the  father  was  duly  in- 
formed, and  the  boy  duly  flogged.  But  he  went  again 
and  again,  and  took  his  whipping  every  time  cheerfully, 
until  at  last  he  said  to  his  father,  "  Daddy,  wont  you  flog 
me  before  I  go,  so  that  the  thoughts  of  it  may  n't  bother 
me  in  the  Sunday-school  T  The  father  saw  he  could  n't 
whip  him  out  of  it,  so  he  tried  to  bribe  him.  All  the 
week  the  boy  sold  apples  in  the  railway-station ;  so  he 
promised  him  if  he  did  not  go  to  the  Sunday-school,  he 


ANECDOTES.  171 

might  sell  for  himself  on  Saturday  afternoons.  The  boy 
agreed,  and  went  immediately  to  the  young  lady  and 
asked  her  if  he  might  come  to  her  house,  and  be  taught 
on  the  Saturday  afternoons,  because  his  father  was  de- 
termined he  should  not  go  to  the  Sunday-school.  She 
gladly  consented,  and  opened  week  by  week  his  young 
heart  to  the  truths  of  Christianity.  Shortly  afterwards 
his  foot  slipped  when  he  was  selling  his  apples  at  the 
windows  of  a  railway-carriage,  and  the  train  went  over 
both  his  legs.  He  asked  the  doctor  who  was  dressing 
his  horrible  wounds,  "  Doctor,  shall  I  live  to  get  home  .^" 
**  No,  my  poor  boy,"  said  the  doctor,  "you  're  dying  now." 
"Then,"  said  he  huskily,  "tell  'em  at  home  I  died  a 
Christian,"  and  so  passed  away.  When  that  young  lady 
appears  before  the  great  throne  she  will  not  be  a  stran- 
ger, for  that  boy,  whose  soul  she  saved,  will  take  her  by 
the  hand  and  lead  her  to  Jesus.  And  he  will  watch  for 
her  coming,  patiently,  and  spring  to  meet  her  when  she 
comes. 


DUTY  OR  LOVE  f 

T  MAKE  it  a  point  to  go  and  see  my  widowed  mother 
at  Northfield  once  a  year.  Now,  suppose  I  should  go 
there  next  Thanksgiving  Day,  and  say,  "  Mother,  I  did 
not  want  to  come  this  time,  but  a  sense  of  duty  com- 
pelled me,"  don't  you  think  that  mother  would  very  soon 
tell  me,  if  that  was  all  that  brought  me,  I  need  not  come 
again }     And  yet  is  not  that  the  way  that  many  Chris- 


172  ANECDOTES. 

tlans  go  about  the  Lord's  work  ?  They  have  no  love  for 
it.  You  often  hear  of  men  breaking  clown  in  their  work. 
Men  will  break  down  who  work  from  a  sense  of  duty ; 
but  if  they  have  love  in  their  hearts  they  will  never  tire, 
much  less  break  down. 


THE  SUNDA  Y-SCHOOL. 

/^NE  afternoon  I  noticed  a  young  lady  at  the  services 
^""^  whom  I  knew  to  be  a  Sunday-school  teacher.  After 
the  service  I  asked  her  where  her  class  was.  "  Oh,"  said 
she,  "  I  went  to  the  school  and  found  only  a  little  boy, 
and  so  I  came  away."  "  Only  a  little  boy !"  said  I. 
"  Think  of  the  value  of  one  such  soul !  The  fires  of  a 
Reformation  may  be  slumbering  in  that  tow-headed  boy  ; 
there  may  be  a  young  Knox,  or  a  Wesley,  or  a  Whitefield 
in  your  class." 

EARNESTNESS. 

A  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  teacher,  dying  of  consump- 
"^  tion,  was  so  anxious  about  the  conversion  of  his 
class,  that  he  came  to  me  in  great  distress  of  mind. 
Together  we  arranged  that  he  should  drive  to  the  homes 
of  his  respective  scholars,  and  seek  to  win  them  to  the 
Saviour.  After  spending  a  week  at  this  work,  he  had 
the  joy  of  seeing  them  all  brought  to  a  saving  knowledge 
of  the  truth  ;  and  then,  ere  the  dying  teacher  left  the  city 
for  his  native  village,  where  he  wished  to  end  his  days, 
we  had  a  precious  reunion  of  his  scholars,  all  rejoicing  in 


ANECDOTES.  173 

the  Saviour;  and  when  he  left  one  morning  by  the  train 
for  his  home,  the  whole  class  met  at  the  station  to  bid 
him  a  last  earthly  farewell. 


\ 


HOW  TO  SET  TO  WORK. 

C\^  one  of  my  rounds  of  meetings  in  the  state  of  In- 
diana, I  was  riding  in  the  wagon  of  a  quiet  Chris- 
tian brother,  who  was  taking  me  to  my  next  appoint- 
ment, when  we  passed  a  little  schoolhouse  which  was 
closed  for  the  day.  Telling  my  friend  to  stop  at  the 
dwelling  nearest  to  it,  I  stood  up  in  the  wagon  and 
hailed  at  the  house.  A  woman  came  to  the  door,  and  I 
asked  her  if  there  were  any  religious  meetings  held  in 
that  schoolhouse.  "  No,  indeed,"  answered  the  woman  ; 
"  we  have  n't  any  meetings  anywhere  about  here." 
"Well,"  said  I,  "tell  all  your  neighbors  there  will  be 
prayer-meetings  in  that  schoolhouse  every  night  next 
week."  At  the  next  house  we  found  the  teacher  of  the 
school,  to  whom  I  gave  the  same  announcement,  and 
bade  her  send  the  notice  by  all  her  scholars.  As  we 
rode  on,  the  brother  who  was  conveying  me  seemed  lost 
in  amazement.  He  knew  that  I  had  a  long  list  of  ap- 
pointments in  advance,  and  could  not  attend  those  meet- 
ings I  was  giving  notice  of.  At  length  he  said,  "  You 
are  telling  these  people  there  are  to  be  prayer-meetings 
in  that  schoolhouse  every  night  next  week.  I  should 
like 'to  know  who  is  going  to  conduct  them.?"  "You 
are,"   said   I.     "  I !"  said  the  man  in  astonishment ;  "  I 

15* 


174  ANECDOTES. 

never  did  such  a  thing  in  my  life."  "  It 's  time  you  had, 
then,"  said  I.  "  I  have  made  the  appointment,  and  you 
will  have  to  keep  it ;"  and  so  the  good  brother  actually 
went  and  held  the  meetings,  which  filled  the  little  school- 
house  to  overflowing,  and  resulted  in  a  great  revival  of 
religion  throughout  all  that  neglected  region  of  country. 


A  FEW  WORDS  TO  PARENTS. 

T  HAVE  been  very  much  cheered  in  the  inquiry-room 
by  having  parents  bringing  some  of  their  children 
there,  and  this  afternoon  at  the  theatre  I  found  a  mother 
with  her  little  boy  weeping.  I  went  over  to  see  if  that 
mother  was  a  Christian,  and  I  found  that  she  was,  but 
the  tears  rolled  over  her  cheeks  as  she  talked  about  her 
boy.  "  Here  is  my  son,"  she  said,  "  and  I  am  so  anxious 
that  he  should  be  saved."  And  as  I  talked  to  the  little 
fellow,  while  his  little  breast  was  heaving  and  the  tears 
were  running  down  his  cheeks,  I  could  see  that  the 
prayers  of  that  mother  were  answered. 


SA  VED  BY  A  KISS. 

A  LADY  came  into  the  office  of  the  New  York  City 
'^  Mission,  and  said  that,  although  she  did  not  think 
she  could  do  very  much  of  active  work  for  the  Lord, 
yet  she  should  like  to  distribute  a  few  tracts.  One  day 
she  saw  a  policeman  taking  a  poor  drunken  woman  to 
jail — a  miserable  object,  ragged,  dirty,  with  hair  disor- 


ANECDOTES.  175 

dered  ;  but  the  lady's  heart  went  out  in  sympathy  toward 
her.  She  found  the  woman  after  she  came  out  of  jail, 
and  just  went  and  folded  her  arms  around  her,  and  kissed 
her.  The  woman  exclaimed,  "  My  God !  what  did  you 
do  that  for  ?"  and  she  replied,  "  I  do  n't  know,  but  I  think 
Jesus  sent  me  to  do  it."  The  woman  said,  "Oh,  don't 
kiss  me  any  more;  you'll  break  my  heart.  Why,  no- 
body has  kissed  me  since  my  mother  died."  But  that 
kiss  brought  the  woman  to  the  feet  of  the  Saviour,  and 
for  the  last  three  years  she  has  been  living  a  godly,  Chris- 
tian life,  won  to  God  by  a  kiss. 


PULL  THE  NET  IN. 

TF  you  are  always  mending  and  setting  the  net,  you 
wont  catch  many  fish.  Who  ever  heard  of  a  man 
going  out  to  fish,  and  setting  his  net,  and  then  letting  it 
stop  there,  and  never  pulling  it  in.  Why,  everybody 
would  laugh  at  the  man's  folly.  There  was  a  minister 
in  Manchester,  who  came  to  me  one  day,  and  said,  "  I 
wish  you  would  tell  me  why  we  ministers  do  n't  succeed 
better  than  we  do."  So  I  took  up  the  idea  of  pulling  in 
the  net,  and  I  said,  "You  ought  to  pull  in  your  nets. 
There  are  a  great  many  in  Manchester  who  can  preach 
much  better  than  I  can,  but  then  I  pull  in  the  net.  A 
great  many  people  have  objections  to  inquiry-meetings  ;" 
and  when  I  had  pointed  out  the  importance  of  them,  the 
minister  said,  "  I  never  did  pull  in  the  net,  but  I  will  try 
next  Sunday  moriiing."     He  did  so,  and  eight  person?i 


176  ANECDOTES, 

anxious  inquirers,  went  into  his  study.  The  next  Sunday 
he  came  down  to  see  me,  and  said,  he  had  never  had 
such  a  Sunday  in  his  life.  The  next  time  he  drew  the 
net,  there  were  forty,  and  when  he  came  to  see  me  at  the 
Opera-House,  the  other  day,  he  said,  "  Moody,  I  have  had 
eight  hundred  conversions  this  last  year.  It  is  a  great 
mistake  I  did  not  begin  earlier  to  pull  in  the  net."  So, 
my  friends,  if  you  want  to  catch  men,  just  pull  in  the  net. 
If  you  only  catch  one  it  will  be  something.  It  may  be  a 
little  child,  but  I  have  known  a  little  child  convert  a 
whole  family.  Why,  you  do  n't  know  what 's  in  that  lit- 
tle dull-headed  boy  in  the  inquiry-room  ;  he  may  become 
a  Martin  Luther — a  reformer  that  shall  make  the  world 
tremble. 


THE  MAGDALEN. 
A  POOR  fallen  woman  was  in  the  meeting  one  Sun- 
day, and  while  I  was  speaking,  she  determined  never 
to  go  back  to  the  house  of  shame,  where  she  had  been 
living.  She  came  into  the  inquiry-meeting,  and  after 
some  friends  had  talked  with  her,  I  said,  "  Where 's  the 
mother  of  that  girl.?"  "Oh,"  she  said,  "I  don't  think 
my  mother  will  ever  forgive  me."  I  said,  "  I  think  you 
are  mistaken;  I  think  you  misjudge  your  mother;  I 
never  knew  a  mother  that  would  not  forgive  her  child." 
A  Christian  lady  took  her  home  that  night,  and  the  next 
day  a  dear  minister  of  the  gospel  took  her  to  his  house 
to  stay  until  they  could  find  her  mother.  Soon  after  I 
had  a  note  from  the  minister,  saying  that  the  mother  had 


ANECDOTES.  177 

been  found ;  and,  oh,  what  a  joyful  meeting  it  was  be- 
tween them ! 


THE  PR  A  YERFUL  CRIPPLE. 
T  ONCE  knew  a  little  cripple  who  lay  upon  her  death- 
bed. She  had  given  herself  to  God,  and  was  dis- 
tressed only  because  she  could  not  labor  for  him  actively 
among  the  lost.  Her  clergyman  visited  her,  and,  hear- 
ing her  complaint,  told  her  that  there  from  her  sick-bed 
she  could  offer  prayers  for  those  whom  she  wished  to  see 
turning  to  God.  He  advised  her  to  write  the  names 
down,  and  then  to  pray  earnestly;  and  then  he  went 
away  and  thought  of  the  subject  no  more.  Soon  a  feel- 
ing of  great  religious  interest  sprang  up  in  the  village, 
and  the  churches  were  crowded  nightly.  The  little  crip- 
ple heard  of  the  progress  of  the  revival,  and  inquired 
anxiously  for  the  names  of  the  saved.  A  few  weeks  later 
she  died,  and  among  a  roll  of  papers  that  was  found 
under  her  little  pillow,  was  one  bearing  the  names  of 
fifty-six  persons,  every  one  of  whom  had  in  the  revival 
been  converted.  By  each  name  was  a  little  cross,  by 
which  the  poor  cripple  saint  had  checked  off  the  names 
of  the  converts  as  they  had  been  reported  to  her. 


THE  DREAM. 

T  REMEMBER  hearing  of  a  person  that  was  always 
trying  to  do  some  great  thing  for  the  Lord,  and  be- 
cause he  could  not  do  a  great  thing,  he  never  did  any- 


178  ANECDOTES. 

thing.  There  are  a  great  many  who  would  be  willing  to 
do  great  things  if  they  could  come  up  and  have  their 
names  heralded  through  the  press.  I  remember  hearing 
of  a  man's  dream,  in  which  he  imagined  that  when  he 
died  he  was  taken  by  the  angels  to  a  beautiful  temple. 
After  admiring  it  for  a  time  he  discovered  that  one  stone 
was  missing.  All  finished  but  just  one  little  stone ;  that 
was  left  out.  He  said  to  the  angel,  "  What  is  this  stone 
left  out  for.?"  The  angel  replied,  "That  was  left  out 
for  you ;  but  you  wanted  to  do  great  things,  and  so  there 
was  no  room  left  for  you."  He  was  startled,  and  awoke, 
and  resolved  that  he  would  become  a  worker  for  God  ; 
and  that  man  always  worked  faithfully  after  that. 


NOT  BEARING  MUCH  FRUIT. 

T  ONCE  asked  a  lady  to  go  and  speak  to  a  woman 
who  sat  weeping,  about  her  soul.  "  Oh !"  said  the 
lady,  "  I  am  afraid  I  am  not  qualified  for  the  work  ; 
please  send  some  one  else."  "  How  long,"  I  said  "  have 
you  been  a  Christian  T  "  Twenty  years."  Twenty 
years  on  the  Lord's  side,  and  not  qualified  to  point  a 
soul  to  Christ !  I  am  afraid  there  will  be  a  great  many 
starless  crowns  in  glory. 


AN  OCTOGENARIAN  REVIVALIST. 

HEN  we  went  to  London  there  was  an  old  woman, 
eighty-five  years  old,  who  came  to  the  meetings, 
and  said   she  wanted  a  hand  in  that  work.     She  was 


W 


AA^ECDOT£S.  179 

appointed  to  a  district,  and  called  on  all  classes  of  peo- 
ple. She  went  to  i^laces  where  we  should  probably  have 
been  turned  out,  and  told  the  people  of  Christ.  There 
were  none  that  could  resist  her.  When  the  old  woman, 
eighty-five  years  old,  came  to  them,  and  offered  to  pray 
for  them,  they  all  received  her  kindly — Catholics,  Jews, 
Gentiles,  all.  That  is  enthusiasm.  That  is  what  we 
want. 


MR.  MOODY'S  CABMAN. 

'T^O  show  how  all  classes  of  society  are  beginning  to 
think  of  spiritual  matters,  Mr.  Moody  related  the 
following  fact,  "  The  cabman  who  took  me  home  yester- 
day, after  I  had  alighted  from  the  vehicle,  said :  *  Baint 
you  Mr.  Moody  V  I  told  him  I  was.  He  then  said : 
*  Well,  had  n't  you  ought  to  talk  to  me  about  my  soul } 
had  n't  you  ought  to  ask  me  if  I  baint  saved  V  I  then 
spoke  to  him  ;  but  he  seemed  disappointed  to  think  I  had 
not  spoken  to  him  about  his  soul." 

OVER  THE  PRECIPICE. 

A  FATHER  took  his  little  child  out  into  the  field  one 
Sabbath,  and  he  lay  down  under  a  beautiful  shady 
tree,  it  being  a  hot  day.  The  little  child  ran  about 
gathering  wild  flowers  and  little  blades  of  grass,  and 
coming  to  his  father  and  saying :  "  Pretty !  pretty  !"  At 
last  the  father  fell  asleep,  and  while  he  was  sleeping  the 
child  wandered  away.     When  he  awoke,  his  first  thought 


\ 


i8o  ANECDOTES, 

was  "■  Where  is  my  child  ?"  He  looked  all  around,  but 
he  could  not  see  him.  He  shouted  at  the  top  of  his 
voice,  and  all  he  heard  was  the  echo  of  his  own  voice. 
Running  to  a  little  hill,  he  looked  around  and  shouted 
again,  but  all  he  heard  was  the  echo  of  his  own  voice. 
No  response !  Then  going  to  a  precipice  at  some  dis- 
tance, he  looked  down,  and  there  upon  the  rocks  and 
briers,  he  saw  the  mangled  form  of  his  loved  child.  He 
rushed  to  the  spot,  and  took  up  the  lifeless  corpse,  and 
hugged  it  to  his  bosom,  and  accused  himself  of  being  the 
murderer  of  his  own  child.  While  he  was  sleeping  his 
child  had  wandered  over  the  precipice.  I  thought  as  x 
heard  that  what  a  picture  of  the  Church  of  God !  How 
many  fathers  and  mothers,  how  many  Christian  men  are 
sleeping  now  while  their  children  wander  over  the  terri- 
ble precipice  a  thousand  times  worse  than  that  precipice, 
right  into  the  bottomless  pit  of  hell.  Father,  where  is 
your  boy  to-night  t  It  may  be,  just  out  here  in  some 
public-house ;  it  may  be,  reeling  through  the  streets  of 
London,  drunk;  it  may  be,  pressing  on  down  to  a 
profligate's  grave.  How  many  fathers  and  mothers  are 
there  in  London — yes,  professing  Christians  too — whose 
children  are  wandering  away  while  they  are  slumbering 
and  sleeping  t  Is  it  not  time  that  the  church  of  God 
should  wake  up  and  come  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  as  one 
man,  and  strive  to  beat  back  those  dark  waves  of  death 
that  roll  through  our  streets,  bearing  upon  their  bosom 
the  noblest  young  men  we  have } 


ANECDOTES.  iSr 

THE  YOUNG  ENGLISH  PREACHER. 

TN  Dublin,  in  1867,  an  Englishman,  a  beardless  boy, 
about  seventeen,  said  to  me,  "I  should  like  to  go 
to  America  and  preach."  I  replied,  "  If  I  want  you,  I  '11 
let  you  know."  I  came  off  home.  Soon  I  got  a  letter 
from  the  young  man.  He  said  he  would  come  to  Chicago 
and  preach,  if  I  wanted  him.  Another  letter,  and  an- 
other, and  at  last  he  said  he  'd  be  in  Chicago  next  Thurs- 
day and  preach  for  me.  I  was  going  away,  and  I  told 
my  friends  this  young  man  was  coming,  and  they  'd  better 
let  him  preach  ;  and  if  he  did  not  suit,  then  I  'd  take  him 
off  their  hands  when  I  came  back  on  Saturday.  When 
I  returned,  I  asked  my  wife  how  the  people  liked  the 
young  man.  **  Why  very  much."  He  had  preached  two 
sermons  from  the  same  text,  John  3:16:  "For  God  so 
loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life."  I  went  to  hear  him  myself.  I  found 
the  people  brought  their  Bibles,  and  he  took  for  his  text 
John  3:16,  and  pointed  to  Scripture  from  Genesis  to 
Revelation,  to  show  that  God  loved  them.  How  they 
listened — eyes,  mouth,  and  ears  open — to  catch  the  truth. 
Seven  sermons,  one  after  the  other,  from  that  text,  and 
the  last  night  he  was  in  Chicago  he  took  the  same  text, 
saying,  "  Ah,  I  have  tried  to  tell  you  how  God  loves  you, 
but  if  I  should  ask  Gabriel,  he  could  only  say :  '  God  so 
loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son, 
that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life.'  "         ,  p 


1 82  ANECDOTES. 

AN  AMERICAN  HEROINE. 

T  HAVE  great  respect  for  the  woman  that  started  out 
during  the  war  with  a  poker.  She  heard  the  enemy 
were  coming  and  went  to  resist  them.  When  some  one 
asked  her  what  she  could  do  with  a  poker,  she  said  she 
would  at  least  let  them  know  what  side  she  was  on.  And 
that  is  what  we  want,  and  the  time  is  coming  when  the 
line  must  be  drawn  in  this  city,  and  those  on  Christ's 
side  must  take  their  stand  ;  and  the  moment  we  come 
out  boldly,  and  acknowledge  Christ,  then  it  is  that  men 
will  begin  to  inquire  what  they  must  do  to  be  saved. 

UNITY. 

"l  1  rHAT  we  want  is  unity  among  God's  people.  When 
there  is  union,  I  do  not  believe  any  power,  earthly 
or  infernal,  can  stand  before  the  work.  When  the  church, 
the  pulpit,  and  the  pew  get  united,  and  God's  people  are 
all  of  one  mind,  Christianity  is  like  a  red-hot  ball  rolling 
over  the  earth,  and  all  the  hosts  of  death  and  hell  can- 
not stand  before  it.  I  believe  that  men  will  then  come 
flocking  into  the  kingdom  by  hundreds  and  thousands. 
"  By  this,"  says  Christ,  "  shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are 
my  disciples,  if  ye  love  one  another."  If  we  only  love 
one  another,  and  pray  for  one  another,  there  will  be  suc- 
cess. God  will  not  disappoint  us.  When  General  Grant 
was  in  front  of  Richmond,  and  his  army  had  been  re- 
pulsed in  the  Wilderness,  he  called  together  his  co-com- 
manders and  held  a  council,  and  asked  them  what  they 


ANECDOTES.  183 

thought  he  had  better  do.  There  were  General  Sher- 
man and  General  Howard,  now  leading  generals,  and  all 
thought  he  had  better  retreat.  He  heard  them  through, 
and  then  broke  up  the  council  of  war,  and  sent  them 
back  to  their  headquarters ;  but  before  morning  an  or- 
derly came  round  with  a  despatch  from  the  general 
directing  an  advance  in  solid  column  on  the  enemy  at 
daylight.  That  was  what  took  Richmond,  and  broke 
down  the  rebellion  in  our  country.  Christians  of  Lon- 
don, let  us  advance  in  solid  column  against  the  enemy ; 
let  us  lift  high  the  standard,  and  in  the  name  of  our  God 
let  us  lift  up  our  voice,  and  let  us  work  together,  shoul- 
der to  shoulder,  and  keep  our  eye  single  to  the  honor  and 
glory  of  Christ.  Let  us  pray  that  we  may  get  self  out 
of  the  way,  and  that  Christ  may  be  all  and  in  all,  and 
then  we  shall  have  great  success.  Let  our  watchword 
be,  "  Here  am  I ;  send  me." 


DON'T  GET  DISCOURAGED. 

T  REMEMBER  a  few  years  ago  how  I  got  very  much 
discouraged  and  disheartened,  and  how  the  Lord  took 
me  out  of  my  doubts  and  fears.  I  had  been  at  work 
some  time  and  had  n't  seen  much  fruit  of  my  labor,  and 
I  had  got  very  much  discouraged  and  disheartened,  and 
very  greatly  cast  down.  One  Monday — I  had  had  a  very 
barren  Sunday,  and  I  was  in  my  study  in  the  morning, 
and  I  was  just  weeping.  I  could  n't  keep  back  the  tears. 
It  seemed  as  if  there  was  n't  any  pleasure  in  working  for 


i84  ANECDOTES, 

God  where  there  was  no  fruit.  Well,  one  of  my  Sab- 
bath-school teachers  came  in — his  Sabbath-school  les- 
sons are  equal  to  a  sermon — and  he  said  to  me,  "  Well, 
Moody,  what  kind  of  a  time  did  you  have  yesterday  ?" 
"  Truly,"  said  I, ''  about  as  dark  a  Sabbath  as  I  have  ever 
had.  What  kind  of  a  time  did  you  have  .?"  "  Oh  !  I  had 
one  of  the  best  times  I  have  ever  had  in  my  life."  He 
was  away  up  in  the  mountain,  and  I  was  away  down  in 
the  valley.  My  head  was  down  like  a  bullrush,  and  his 
was  up  in  the  clouds.  Said  he,  "  I  was  on  Noah  yester- 
day. Did  you  ever  preach  on  his  character.?"  I  said 
*'No;  I  didn't  think  I  had  studied  it  particularly." 
"  Now,"  said  he,  *'  if  you  think  you  are  not  doing  any- 
thing, you  read  it.  I  advise  you  to  take  that  subject  up 
and  study  it  a  little."  And  when  he  went  away  I  got 
out  my  Bible,  and  the  thought  came  over  me,  Here  is  a 
man  who  labored  and  talked  a  hundred  years,  and  did  n't 
get  a  convert ;  and  he  did  n't  get  discouraged.  Here  is 
a  man  that  never  led  one  soul  to  God  outside  his  own 
family.  I  closed  my  Bible,  and  went  down  town  with  my 
head  up  and  the  darkness  all  gone.  In  the  meeting  a 
man  got  up  and  put  his  hand  on  my  chair,  trembling  in 
every  limb,  and  said  he,  "  My  friend,  I  am  lost.  I  wish 
you  would  pray  for  my  soul."  I  thought  to  myself,  What 
would  Noah  think  of  that }  He  had  been  at  work  a  hun- 
dred years,  and  never  had  a  man  ask  him  that ;  and  yet 
he  had  n't  grown  discouraged.  One  man  said,  "  I  come 
from  a  little  town  in  Illinois  ;  and  when  there  at  the 
union  services,  we  took  in  a  hundred  converts  in  that 


ANECDOTES,  185 

little  town."  And  I  thought  again,  What  would  Noah 
say  to  that  ?  But  the  old  man  kept  at  work,  and  never 
got  discouraged.  He  took  God  at  his  word,  and  worked 
right  on.  And,  my  friends,  from  that  time  I  have  never 
been  discouraged.  The  thought  of  that  lifts  me  right 
up  out  of  the  darkness  into  the  light.  Don't  get  dis- 
couraged. 

THE  NEGLECTFUL  BRIDGE-KEEPER. 

A  MAN  who  had  charge  of  a  swing-bridge  opened  it 
'^  just  to  oblige  a  friend  who  said  there  was  plenty  of 
time  for  his  boat  to  go  through  before  the  train  of  cars 
came  along.  But  a  moment  after  the  lightning-like 
express  came  thundering  on  and  dashed  into  the  dark 
waters  below.  The  bridge-keeper,  whose  neglect  had 
caused  the  disaster,  lost  his  reason,  and  his  life  since  has 
been  spent  in  a  mad-house.  The  first  and  only  words  he 
uttered  when  the  train  leaped  into  the  open  chasm  were, 
"  If  I  only  had !"  and  he  has  gone  on  constantly  repeat- 
ing the  vain  regret.  Ah  !  that  will  be  the  cry  in  the  lost 
world  :  "  If  I  only  had  !" 


LOST/  LOST!  LOST/ 

T  N  a  narrow  close  of  Glasgow  there  lay  a  poor  man 
who  was  dying,  and  who  cried  out,  "  Lost !  lost !  lost !" 
His  mother  heard  him,  and  asked,  "  Is  it  possible  that 
you  have  lost  your  faith  in  God  r  "  No,"  said  he,  "  I 
have  a  hope  of  heaven,  but  I  have  lost  my  life.     I  have 

16* 


I 


i86  ANECDOTES, 

lived  twenty-four  years  and  have  done  nothing  for  the 
Lord."  How  many  Christians  are  there  in  this  house, 
who,  if  they  were  to  die,  would  die  as  this  man  did,  hav- 
ing done  nothing  for  the  Lord  ? 


THE  PREACHER  AND  THE  JUDGE. 

A  PREACHER  was  riding  out  to  a  service  with  a 
prominent  judge,  and  said,  "Judge,  I  want  you  to 
speak  to-night."  "  Oh,"  said  the  judge,  "  I  can't  do  that ; 
I  have  never  spoken  in  a  church  in  my  life."  When 
they  got  to  the  place  they  found  the  room  full,  and  the 
preacher  said,  "Judge,  I  want  you  to  answer  a  few  ques- 
tions," and  then  got  the  man  to  tell  when  he  was  con- 
verted, and  something  of  his  experience.  The  whole 
audience  was  broken  down,  and  many  were  converted. 
Oh,  shame  on  us  Christians  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
that  we  should  not  be  willing  to  confess  Christ  before 
men. 


THE  LITTLE  NORWEGIAN  BOY. 

TF  a  man  wants  to  join  the  army  he  must  be  ready  to 
wear  the  uniform ;  and  we  must  as  Christians  be 
ready  to  show  that  we  belong  to  Christ.  In  a  prayer- 
meeting  at  Boston  I  once  attended,  most  of  those  who 
took  part  were  old  men  ]  but  a  little  tow-headed  Norwe- 
gian boy,  who  could  only  speak  broken  English,  got  up 
and  said,  "  If  I  tell  the  world  about  Christ,  he  will  tell 


ANECDOTES,  187 

the  Father  about  me."    That  wrote  itself  upon  my  heart, 
and  I  have  never  forgotten  what  that  little  boy  said. 


M 


HOLD  THE  FORT. 

R.  MOODY,  in  giving  out  the  hymn,  "  Hold  the 
fort,  boys,"  said,  "I  am  told  that  when  General 
Sherman  went  through  Atlanta  towards  the  sea — through 
the  Southern  states — he  left  in  the  fort  in  the  Kennesaw 
mountains  a  little  handful  of  men  to  guard  some  rations 
that  he  brought  there.  And  General  Hood  got  into  the 
rear  and  attacked  the  fort,  drove  the  men  in  from  the 
outer  work  into  the  inner  works,  and  for  a  long  time  the 
battle  raged  fearfully.  Half  of  the  men  were  either 
killed  or  wounded  ;  the  general  who  was  in  command 
was  wounded  seven  different  times  ;  and  when  they  were 
about  ready  to  run  up  the  white  flag  and  surrender  the 
fort,  Sherman  got  within  fifteen  miles,  and  through  the 
signal  corps  on  the  mountain  he  sent  the  message : 
*  Hold  the  fort ;  I  am  coming.  W.  T.  Sherman.'  That 
message  fired  up  their  hearts,  and  they  held  the  fort 
until  re-enforcements  came,  and  the  fort  did  not  go  into 
the  hands  of  their  enemies.  Our  friend,  Mr.  Bliss,  has 
written  a  hymn  entitled  *  Hold  the  fort,  for  I  am  com- 
ing,' and  I  'm  going  to  ask  Mr.  Sankey  to  sing  that 
hymn.  I  hope  there  will  be  thousands  of  young  con- 
verts coming  into  the  ranks  to  help  hold  the  fort.  Our  .  / 
Saviour  is  in  command,  and  he  is  coming.  Let  us  take  /^ 
up  the  chorus." 


i88  ANECDOTES. 

THE  DETERMINED  GENERAL. 

n^HERE  is  a  story  in  the  history  of  the  ninth  century 
of  a  young  general  coming  up,  with  a  handful  of 
men,  to  attack  a  king  who  had  an  army  of  thirty  thou- 
sand. And  when  the  king  heard  this  young  general  had 
only  five  hundred  men,  he  sent  a  messenger  to  him  to 
say  that  if  he  would  surrender,  the  king  would  have 
mercy  on  him  and  save  his  life.  The  general  heard  the 
messenger  through,  and  when  he  had  finished  he  called 
up  one  of  his  private  soldiers,  and  throwing  a  dagger  to 
him,  said,  "  Take  that  and  drive  it  into  your  heart."  The 
man  took  it,  drove  it  into  his  heart,  and  fell  dead.  Calling 
up  another,  he  said,  "  Leap  into  yonder  chasm."  And 
the  man  leaped  to  his  death  at  once.  Then  turning  to 
the  messenger,  the  general  said,  "  Go  back  to  your  mas- 
ter and  tell  him  I  have  five  hundred  such  men  as  those. 
We  die,  but  never  surrender."  When  the  king  heard 
that,  it  struck  terror  to  his  heart,  and  his  whole  army 
became  demoralized  and  fled ;  and  within  forty-eight 
hours  that  young  general  had  him  chained  a  prisoner. 

THE  CHEERING  WORD. 

TNSTEAD  of  finding  fault,  cheer  on  the  young  men. 
I  have  been  cheered  by  an  old  man  coming  up  to  me, 
with  tears  running  down  his  cheeks,  and  saying,  **  God 
bless  you,  young  man.  I  can't  work  much  more,  but  I 
can  pray."  Oh,  how  it  cheers  me  !  I  remember  when 
I  first  went  away  from  home.    It  was  only  twelve  miles ; 


ANECDOJ'ES,  189 

but  I  Ve  never  been  so  far  since  as  that  seemed  to  me 
then.  I  had  left  my  mother  and  sisters  for  the  first  time 
in  my  life,  and  if  I  ever  needed  a  kind  word,  or  a  word 
of  cheer,  it  was  then.  I  was  walking  down  the  street 
with  my  brother,  who  had  gone  there  a  year  before ;  and 
as  we  were  going  along,  my  brother  said,  pointing  out 
an  old  gentleman,  "  There 's  a  man  that  will  give  you  a 
cent.  He  gives  every  new  boy  that  comes  to  this  town 
a  cent.  He  gave  me  one,  and  I  know  he  will  you."  I 
looked  at  him.  I  thought  he  was  the  finest-looking  man 
I  ever  saw.  When  he  came  up  to  us,  he  said  to  my 
brother,  "  Why,  this  is  a  new  boy  in  the  town,  is  n't  it .?" 
And  he  said,  "Yes,  sir;  he's  just  come."  He  wanted 
him  to  be  sure  I  had  n't  got  the  cent.  The  old  man  took 
off  my  hat,  and  put  his  trembling  hand  on  my  head,  and 
said,  "■  Well,  God  bless  you,  my  boy.  I  am  told  your 
father  is  dead;  but  you've  got  a  Father  in  heaven."  He 
gave  me  a  bran-new  cent.  I  don't  know  what  has  be- 
come of  the  cent ;  but  I  can  feel  the  pressure  of  the  old 
man's  hand  upon  my  head  to-day.  He  gave  me  what  I 
wanted  so  much — a  kind  and  cheering  word. 


THE  MAN  AT  THE  LAMP-POST 

T  REMEMBER  one  night  when  I  was  going  home.  It 
was  about  ten  o'clock.  I  had  n't  spoken  to  any  one. 
It  was  when  I  was  in  Chicago.  And  I  was  on  my  way 
home  and  was  watching  for  some  one ;  and  I  came  up  to 
a  lamp-post,  and  there  stood  a  man.     I  stepped  up  and 


I90  ANECDOTES. 

put  my  hand  on  his  shoulder  very  kindly,  and  I  said, 
**  Are  you  a  Christian  ?"  He  turned  with  an  oath,  and 
told  me  it  was  none  of  my  business.  But  I  talked  with 
him  kindly,  and  left  him.  He  knew  me,  but  I  did  n't 
know  him  ;  and  one  day  he  said  to  a  friend  of  mine, 
whom  he  knew,  "  Now,  you  're  a  friend  of  Moody's,  and 
I  want  you  to  go  and  talk  with  him.  He  is  doing  more 
hurt  than  any  man  in  Chicago.  I  was  standing  at  a 
lamp-post  the  other  night  at  ten  o'clock.  I  was  never 
introduced  to  him  and  did  n't  know  him  ;  but  he  came 
up  to  me  and  asked  me  if  I  was  a  Christian.  I  was 
never  so  insulted  in  my  life."  The  friend  came  to  me 
and  argued  with  me  a  long  time.  But  I  said  I  did  n't 
intend  to  do  the  man  an  injury,  but  just  spoke  to  him 
kindly  about  Christ.  Three  months  passed  away,  and 
one  morning  he  came  to  me,  when  I  had  rooms  at  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  Rooms,  before  I  was 
married.  I  went  to  the  door  and  asked  who  was  there. 
He  said,  "A  stranger.  I  want  to  see  you  about  my 
soul."  I  got  up  and  opened  the  door,  and  he  said,  "  Do 
you  remember  me  .^"  I  said,  "  No."  Said  he,  "  I  am  the 
man  you  met  three  months  ago  at  a  lamp-post,  and  I 
have  come  to  tell  you  I  have  had  no  peace  since  that 
time.  I  want  to  have  you  pray  for  me."  The  man  went 
away,  became  a  member  of  a  mission  Sunday-school, 
took  a  class,  and  became  a  good  worker.  I  have  thanked 
God  a  thousand  times  that  I  spoke  to  that  man  in  sea- 
son.    I  believe  that  hundreds  can  be  met. 


ANECDOTES.  191 

THE  COURAGEOUS  FIREMAN. 

VT'OU  have  all  seen  the  account  printed  so  many  times 
of  the  fireman  going  up  the  burning  building.  You 
remember  there  was  a  child  seen  up  in  the  fourth  story. 
The  flames  had  already  got  around  the  staircase,  and  it 
was  supposed  that  everybody  was  taken  out ;  when  away 
up  in  the  fourth  story  was  discovered  a  little  child,  cry- 
ing for  help.  What  could  be  done }  No  one  dared 
venture  up  the  burning  building.  The  walls  were  almost 
ready  to  fall.  At  last  a  bold,  courageous  fireman  put  up 
his  ladder,  and  started  up  for  the  child  ;  but  when  he  got 
to  the  second  story  the  flames  were  so  hot  that  he  wa- 
vered and  seemed  about  to  come  down.  If  he  did  the 
child  must  perish.  Some  one  in  the  crowd  happened  to 
think,  and  cried  out,  "  Cheer  him !"  And  cheer  upon 
cheer  went  up ;  and  up  the  ladder  he  went,  and  brought 
down  the  child.  And  many  a  soul  would  be  saved  if 
God's  people  would  cheer  on  the  young  men  and  young 
converts. 


6.  INCIDENTS  REFERRING  TO  DEATH  AND  THE 
FUTURE  STATE. 


A  FUNERAL  SERMON. 

T  WAS  called  to  preach  at  a  funeral  once,  and  I  thought 

I  would  try  to  preach  as  nearly  as  I  could  as  Christ 

used  to  preach.     So  I  searched  the  record,  but  I  found 

that  Jesus  Christ  never  preached  a  funeral  sermon  :  for 


192  AXECDOTES. 

when  He  went  to  a  funeral,  tJie  dead  body  always  arose 
and  lived.     He  has  taken  the  sting  from  death  for  all  his 

people. 

— — ♦ 

THE  STING  OF  DEATH  EXTRACTED. 
'T^HE  reason  I  like  the  Gospel  is,  that  it  has  taken  out 
of  my  path  the  worst  enemies  I  ever  had.  My 
mind  goes  back  to  twenty  years  ago,  before  I  was  con- 
verted, and  I  think  very  often  how  dark  it  used  to  seem 
at  times  as  I  thought  of  the  future.  There  was  Death  / 
what  a  terrible  enemy  it  seemed  !  I  was  brought  up  in 
a  little  village  in  New  England.  It  was  the  custom 
there  when  a  person  was  buried  to  toll  out  the  age  of  the 
man  at  his  funeral.  I  used  to  count  the  strokes  of  the 
bell.  Death  never  entered  that  village,  and  tore  away 
one  of  the  inhabitants,  but  I  always  used  to  count  the 
tolling  of  the  bell.  Sometimes  it  would  be  a  way  up  to 
seventy,  or  between  seventy  and  eighty  ;  beyond  the  life 
allotted  to  man,  when  man  seemed  living  on  borrowed 
time  when  cut  off.  Sometimes  it  would  be  clear  down 
in  the  teens  and  childhood,  for  death  had  taken  away 
one  of  my  own  age.  It  used  to  make  a  solemn  impres- 
sion on  me;  I  used  to  be  a  great  coward.  When  it 
comes  to  death,  some  men  say,  "  I  do  not  fear  it."  I 
feared  it,  and  felt  terribly  afraid  when  I  thought  of  the 
cold  hand  of  death  feeling  for  the  cords  of  life,  and 
thought  of  being  launched  into  eternity,  to  go  to  an  un- 
known world.  I  used  to  have  dreadful  thoughts  of  God ; 
but  they  are  all  gone  now.     Death  has  lost  its  sting. 


ANECDOTES.  193 

And  as  I  go  on  through  the  world  T  can  shout  now,  when 
the  bell  is  tolling  :  "  O  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?"  And 
I  hear  a  voice  come  rolling  down  from  Calvary  :  **  Buried 
in  the  bosom  of  the  Son  of  God."  He  robbed  death  of 
its  sting ;  he  took  away  the  sting  of  death  when  he  gave 
his  own  bonom  to  the  stroke. 


THE  ROLL-CALL. 

A  SOLDIER  lay  on  his  dying  couch  during  our  last 
war,  and  they  heard  him  say  :  "  Here !"  They 
asked  him  what  he  wanted,  and  he  put  up  his  hand  and 
said,  •'  Hush !  they  are  calling  the  roll  of  heaven,  and  I 
am  answering  to  my  name  ;"  and  presently  he  whispered, 
*'  Here !"  and  he  was  gone.  That  great  roll  is  being 
called.  My  friends,  your  name  may  come  to-night — 
mine  may  come.  Is  your  name  in  the  Book  of  Life  ? 
If  it  is  we  will  go  up  from  earth  with  a  shout  of  victory 
upon  our  lips  ;  it  will  be  no  sad  summons.  But  to  die 
without  God,  without  hope,  without  our  names  written 
in  the  Book  of  Life,  oh,  how  sad,  how  dark,  how  terrible  ! 
May  God  help  you  to-night,  each  and  every  one  that  is 
without  God  and  without  hope,  to  press  into  the  king- 
dom •  that  is  the  prayer  of  my  heart. 

— « — 

SWEEPLNG  THROUGH  THE  GATES. 
A  N  eminent  minister  in  America,  Alfred  Cookman, 
the  Robert  McCheyne  of  his  day,  was  dying,  and 
when  his  friends  were  gathered  round  his  couch  waiting 

It 


194  ANECDOTES. 

to  see  him  depart  to  be  with  Christ,  his  face  Ht  up,  and 
with  a  shout  of  triumph,  he  said :  "  I  am  sweeping 
through  the  gates,  washed  in  the  Blood  of  the  Lamb !" 
And  this  echoes  and  re-echoes  through  America  to-day — 
*'  I  am  sweeping  through  the  gates,  washed  in  the  Blood 
of  the  Lamb !"  May  these  be  our  last  words,  and  may 
an  abundant  entrance  be  granted  us  into  the  gates  of 
the  heavenly  city ! 

BLOOD— BLOOD— BLOOD  / 

A  N  aged  minister  of  the  Gospel,  when  on  his  dying 
'^  bed,  said :  "  Bring  me  the  Bible."  Putting  his  fin- 
ger upon  the  verse,  "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  his  Son, 
cleanseth  us  from  all  sin,"  he  said,  *'  I  die  in  the  hope  of 
this  verse."  It  wasn't  his  fifty  years'  preaching,  but 
the  blood  of  Christ.  When  we  stand  before  God's  tri- 
bunal we  shall  be  as  white  as  snow,  because  we  shall  be 
washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  During  the  Ameri- 
can war  a  doctor  heard  a  wounded  man  saying,  "  Blood, 
blood,  blood  !"  The  doctor  thought  this  was  because  he 
had  seen  so  much  blood,  and  sought  to  divert  his  mind. 
The  man  smiled,  and  said:  "  I  was  n't  thinking  of  the 
blood  upon  the  battle-field,  but  I  was  thinking  how 
precious  the  blood  of  Christ  is  to  me  as  I  am  dying." 
As  he  died,  his  lips  quivered :  '*  Blood,  blood,  blood  !'* 
and  he  was  gone.  That  blood  will  be  precious  when  we 
come  to  our  dying-bed — it  will  be  worth  more  than  all 
the  world  then. 


ANECDOTES.  195 

THE  MITHERLESS  BAIRN. 
T  WAS  reading,  some  time  ago,  of  a  little  child  whose 
mother  was  sick,  and  the  child  was  not  old  enough 
to  understand  about  the  sickness  of  the  mother.  It  was 
taken  away,  and  when  the  mother  died,  they  thought 
they  would  rather  have  the  child  remember  its  mother  as 
she  was  when  she  was  well,  and  so  they  did  not  take  her 
back  till  after  the  mother  was  buried.  They  then  brought 
the  child  home,  and  she  ran  into  the  drawing-room  to 
meet  her  mother,  and  her  mother  was  not  there.  The 
little  thing  was  disappointed,  and  ran  into  all  the  rooms, 
but  could  not  find  her  mother.  She  began  to  cry,  and 
asked  them  to  send  her  back;  she  did  not  want  to  stay; 
home  had  lost  its  attraction  because  mother  was  not 
there.  What  is  going  to  make  heaven  so  delighful  1  It 
wont  be  the  pearly  gates ;  it  wont  be  the  jasper  walls ; 
but  it  will  be  that  we  shall  see  the  King  in  his  beauty, 
and  shall  behold  him,  and  not  only  him,  but  those  that 
have  gone  before  us. 

''HIGHER  AND  HIGHERP 

A  DYING  child  said  to  his  father,  "  Lift  me  up,"  and 
the  father  tenderly  lifted  the  child  higher  on  the 
pillow.  But  again  the  child  said,  "  Lift  me  up,"  and  the 
father  took  him  in  his  arms.  Then  the  child  said  faintly, 
"  Higher,  higher,  higher,"  until  the  father  had  lifted  him 
as  high  as  he  could  stretch  his  arms,  and  as  the  last 
"  higher  "  was  whispered,  God  came  down  and  took  the 
little  one  to  his  eternal  home. 


196  ANECDOTES, 

TOO  LA  TE. 
T  WAS  closing:  the  meeting  one  day  at  our  church  in 
Chicago,  when  a  young  soldier  got  up  and  entreated 
the  people  to  decide  for  Christ  at  once.  He  said  he 
had  just  come  from  a  dark  scene.  A  comrade  of  his,  he 
said,  who  had  enlisted  with  him,  had  a  father  who  was 
always  entreating  him  to  become  a  Christian,  and  in 
reply  he  always  said  he  would  when  the  war  was  over. 
At  last  he  was  wounded,  and  was  put  into  the  hospital, 
but  got  worse,  and  was  gradually  sinking.  One  day,  a 
few  hours  before  he  died,  a  letter  came  from  his  sister, 
but  he  was  too  ill  to  read  it.  Oh,  it  was  such  an  earnest 
letter.  The  comrade  read  it  to  him,  but  he  did  not  seem 
to  understand  it,  he  was  so  weak,  till  it  came  to  the  last 
sentence,  which  said,  "  Oh,  my  dear  brother,  when  you 
get  this  letter,  will  you  not  accept  your  sister's  Sav- 
iour .''"  The  dying  man  sprang  up  from  his  cot,  and  said, 
"  What  do  you  say  ?  what  do  you  say .?"  and  then,  falling 
back  on  his  pillow,  feebly  exclaimed,  "  It  is  too  late !  it 
is  too  late !" 

THE  CONVERT'S  DEATH. 
^"X  rHEN  we  were  in  Edinburgh  we  finished  our  work 
at  about  the  close  of  the  year.  The  last  night 
of  the  old  year  I  was  pleading  with  the  people  to  come 
to  Christ  and  settle  the  question  then  and  there.  There 
was  a  young  lady  to  return  home  that  week.  She  had 
finished  her  education,  and  she  was  going  back  to  Aber- 
deen.    The  Spirit  of  God  touched  her  heart,  and  she 


ANECDOTES.  197 

entered  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  next  day  she  went 
to  one  of  the  ministers  and  said,  "  Can't  you  give  me 
something  to  do  ?"  He  gave  her  some  tracts  to  distrib- 
ute. She  went  to  work,  and  the  next  day  she  came  to 
the  meeting  for  the  last  time.  She  got  all  her  things 
packed  the  next  morning,  and  was  going  back  to  Aber- 
deen. *  She  got  into  the  railway  carriage.  She  had  one 
of  our  little  hymn-books  open  at  her  favorite  hymn — 
the  hymn  that  Mr.  Sankey  sang  this  afternoon :  "  The 
gate  is  ajar  for  me."  At  Em.manuel  Junction  there  was 
a  collision,  and  the  poor  girl  was  crushed.  We  were  at 
Dundee.  We  had  only  gone  there.  We  heard  the  sad 
news,  and  that  one  of  the  young  converts  of  Edinburgh 
was  just  dying;  when  we  made  inquiries  we  found  that 
her  own  blood  had  marked  the  hymn,  and  that  she  had 
died  singing,  "  The  gate 's  ajar  for  me,  for  me."  Those 
were  her  last  words. 


THE  LOSS  OF  A  CHILD. 
A  FRIEND  in  Chicago  took  a  number  of  children 
'^  out  one  beautiful  day  in  the  summer.  They  were 
the  children  of  a  large  Sabbath-school,  and  they  were  to 
have  a  day  in  the  country.  There  was  a  little  boy  on 
the  platform  of  the  railway-station,  and  by  some  accident 
he  fell  down  under  the  wheels,  and  the  whole  train 
passed  over  him.  The  train  went  back,  and  the  body 
was  found  so  mangled  that  the  superintendent  had  to 
take  off  his  coat  to  tie  up  the  mangled  corpse.  He  left 
it  at  the  station,  and,  taking  two  of  the  teachers  with 

17* 


198  ANECDOTES. 

him,  went  to  the  house  of  the  parents,  (The  little  boy- 
was  an  only  one.)  When  they  got  to  the  house,  one  said 
to  the  others,  "  You  go  in."  **  No,  I  cannot,"  was  the 
reply.  The  superintendent  wanted  the  teachers  to  go  in, 
because  he  thought  the  parents  would  blame  him  ;  but 
the  teachers  refused  to  go.  So  the  superintendent  went 
in.  He  found  the  parents  in  the  dining-room  at  dinner. 
He  called  the  father  out,  thinking  that  he  would  tell  the 
father  first,  that  he  might  break  the  news  to  the  mother. 
Taking  him  into  another  room,  he  said,  "  I  have  sad 
news  to  tell  you;  your  little  Jemmie  has  got  run  over." 
The  father  turned  deadly  pale.  "  Is  he  dead  T  he  asked. 
"Yes,  sir,  he  is  dead."  Then  the  father  rushed  into  the 
dining-room,  and  instead  of  breaking  the  news  gently  to 
his  wife,  he  cried  out  like  a  madman,  **  Dead,  dead !" 
The  mother  said,  "  Who  V  "  Our  little  Jemmie."  Said 
the  young  man  who  told  it  to  me  the  next  day,  "  I  can- 
not tell  you  what  I  suffered  when  that  mother  came 
rushing  out  to  rac,  and  said,  *  Where  is  my  boy  .?  Where 
are  his  remains  1  Take  me  to  them  that  I  may  see  him.' 
I  told  the  mother  that  the  body  was  so  mangled  that  she 
could  not  identify  it ;  and  she  fainted  away  at  my  feet." 
Said  he,  '*  Moody,  I  would  not  be  the  messenger  of  such 
tidings  as  that  again,  if  you  would  give  me  all  Chicago." 
There  is  not  a  mother  or  a  father  in  this  hall  but  would 
say  that  it  is  terrible  to  lose  a  beautiful  child  like  that,  to 
have  it  swept  away  so  suddenly.  Well,  it  is  terrible ; 
but,  my  friend,  what  is  that  in  comparison  with  the  loss 
of  the  soul .'' 


ANECDOTES.  199 

THE  DYING  MOTHER'S  CHARGE. 

T^HERE  was  a  mother  lay  dying  some  time  ago,  and 
she  requested  her  children  to  be  brought  to  her 
bedside.  The  eldest  one  came  in  first,  and  putting  her 
loving  hands  on  his  head,  she  gave  him  a  mother's  part- 
ing message.  Then  came  another,  and  then  another. 
To  all  of  them  she  gave  her  parting  message,  until  the 
last — the  seventh  one,  an  infant — was  brought  in.  She 
was  so  young  she  could  not  understand  the  message  of 
love  ;  so  the  mother  gave  it  to  her  husband  for  her,  and 
then  she  took  the  child  to  her  bosom  and  kissed  it  and 
caressed  it,  until  her  time  was  almost  up.  Then  turning 
lo  her  husband,  she  said,  "  I  charge  you  to  bring  all 
these  children  home  to  heaven  with  you." 


TWO  DEA  TH-BED  SCENES. 

TF  you  want  your  children  saved,  lead  the  way,  and 
then  they  will  follow  you.  I  never  speak  to  parents 
on  this  subject  but  I  think  of  two  men  whom  I  know. 
One  of  them  is  a  wealthy  man,  and  says  he  would  give 
all  the  wealth  he  has  got  if  he  had  his  boy  back  here 
again.  He  lived  to  be  seventeen  years  old,  when  he  was 
brought  home  in  a  dying  condition.  An  accident  over- 
took him;  and  the  family  physician  was  brought  for 
him,  and  they  entreated  the  doctor  to  bring  the  boy  to 
consciousness  before  he  died.  And  at  last  he  recovered 
a  little,  and  looking  around,  saw  his  father,  who  said, 


200  ANECDOTES. 

"  My  son,  do  you  know  that  you  are  dying  ?"  "  No.  Is 
this  death  that  I  feel  ?"  "  Yes,  my  boy.  It  is  death." 
"  Well,  father,  wont  you  pray  for  my  lost  soul  ?"  And 
the  father  wept,  and  said  he  could  not  pray.  Seventeen 
long  years  God  had  given  him  that  boy,  and  he  had 
never  breathed  his  name  in  prayer  once.  Then  he  said 
to  his  mother,  "  Mother,  you  pray  for  me."  But  she 
could  n't  pray.  And  soon  afterwards  he  became  uncon- 
scious again  and  died.  The  father  says  that  if  he  could 
go  to  the  grave,  and  bring  the  boy  back  again  long 
enough  to  bring  him  to  Christ,  he  would  give  all  his 
wealth.  But  it  was  too  late.  He  had  gone  !  The  other 
man — and  what  a  contrast  between  the  two  ! — the  other 
man  was  an  elder  in  a  New  York  church.  He  came 
home  one  day.  His  child  had  been  sick  ;  but  he  didn't 
consider  him  dangerously  ill.  His  wife  was  weeping. 
Said  he,  "  What 's  the  trouble  .?"  "  Why,  there  *s  been  a 
great  change  in  our  child  since  morning,  and  I  am  afraid 
he  is  dying.  I  wish  you  would  go  in,  and  tell  me  if  you 
think  he  is."  The  father  went  in  and  placed  his  hand  on 
his  forehead,  and  he  felt  the  cold  damp  of  death  stealing 
over  him.  And  he  said,  *'  My  son,  do  you  know  you  are 
dying  r  "  No.  Am  I .?"  "Yes."  "  Will  I  die  to-day, 
father  ?"  "  Yes.  You  cannot  live  until  night."  And  a 
smile  crossed  the  boy's  face,  and  he  said,  "  Well,  then,  I 
will  be  with  Jesus  to-night ;  wont  I,  father  T  "  Yes,  my 
boy,  you  will  be  with  the  Saviour."  And  the  father 
turned  his  head  to  hide  the  tears.  But  the  boy  saw 
them,  and  he  said,  "Father,  don't  you  weep  for  me. 


ANECDOTES.  201 

When  I  get  to  heaven  I  will  go  right  straight  to  Jesus, 
and  I  will  tell  him  that  ever  since  I  can  remember  you 
have  tried  to  lead  me  to  him." 


THE  LAST  SONG. 

T  T  OW  many  times  I  have  been  called  to  the  bedside 
of  dying  soldiers  in  the  hospitals  during  the  war ! 
I  remember  once  seeing  a  lad  that  was  dying  who  had 
been  wounded  some  time  before.  He  asked  me  if  I 
could  sing.  I  told  him,  "  No."  He  said,  "  I  wish  you 
would  try."  I  repeated  the  words  of  a  hymn.  He  took 
it  up  and  tried  to  sing,  and  did  sing,  and  died  with  the 
words  upon  his  lips.  And  so  he  passed  away.  It  was 
like  being  at  the  very  gate  of  heaven.  The  Lord  had 
put  a  new  song  into  his  mouth. 

NO  HOME  BEYOND  THE  GRAVE. 
T  HAVE  been  told  of  a  wealthy  man  who  died  recently. 
Death  came  unexpectedly  to  him,  as  it  almost  always 
does  ;  and  he  sent  out  for  his  lawyer  to  draw  his  will. 
And  he  went  on  willing  away  his  property  ;  and  when  he 
came  to  his  wife  and  child,  he  said  he  wanted  them  to 
have  the  home.  But  the  little  child  didn't  understand 
what  death  was.  She  was  standing  near,  and  she  said, 
•'  Papa,  have  you  got  a  home  in  that  land  you  are  going 
to  .?"  The  arrow  reached  that  heart ;  but  it  was  too  late. 
He  saw  his  mistake.  He  had  got  no  home  beyond  the 
grave. 


202  ANECDOTES. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


THE  SKEPTIC'S  DREAM. 

T  HEARD  of  a  man  some  time  ago  who  was  going  to 
get  into  heaven  in  his  own  way.  He  did  not  believe 
in  the  Bible  or  the  love  of  God,  but  was  going  to  get  in 
on  account  of  his  good  deeds.  He  was  very  liberal, 
gave  a  great  deal  of  money,  and  he  thought  the  more  he 
gave,  the  better  it  would  be  for  him  in  the  other  world. 
I  do  n't,  as  a  general  thing,  believe  in  dreams,  but  some- 
times they  teach  good  lessons.  Well,  this  man  dreamed 
one  night  that  lie  was  building  a  ladder  to  heaven,  and 
he  dreamed  that  every  good  deed  he  did  put  him  one 
round  higher  on  this  ladder,  and  when  he  did  an  extra 
good  deed,  it  put  him  up  a  good  many  rounds ;  and  in 
his  dream  he  kept  going,  going  up,  until  at  last  he  got 
out  of  sight,  and  he  went  on  and  on  doing  his  good 
deed.s,  and  the  ladder  went  up  higher  and  higher,  until 
at  last  he  thought  he  saw  it  run  up  to  the  very  throne  of 
God.  Then  in  his  dream  he  thought  he  died,  and  that  a 
mighty  voice  came  rolling  down  from  above  :  "  He  that 
climbeth  up  some  other  way,  the  same  is  a  thief  and  a 
robber,"  and  down  came  his  ladder,  and  he  woke  from 
his  sleep,  and  thought,  "  If  I  go  to  heaven,  I  must  go 
some  other  way."     My  friends,  it  is  by  the  way  of  the 


ANECDOTES,  203 

blood  of  Christ  that  we  are  to  go  to  heaven.     If  a  man 
has  got  to  work  his  way  there,  who  will  ever  get  there  ? 


LAST  WORDS. 

T  was  on  the  Pacific  coast  some  time  ago,  and  there 
they  were  telling  me  about  a  stage-driver  who  had 
died  a  little  while  before ;  and  you  that  have  been  there 
know  that  those  men  make  a  good  deal  of  the  brake,  for 
they  have  to  keep  their  feet  upon  it  all  the  time  going 
down  the  mountains  ;  and  as  this  poor  fellow  was  breath- 
ing his  last  in  his  bed,  he  cried  out,  "  I  am  on  the  down- 
grade, and  can't  reach  the  brake  1"  Those  were  his  last 
words.  There  was  not  a  stage-driver  when  I  was  there 
but  was  talking  about  it. 


THE  FIRST  AND  SECOND  ADAM.        ^ 

/^NCE  when  I  was  going  to  speak  in  a  little  town,  on 
our  way  there,  there  was  a  young  man  riding  in 
front  of  us,  and  I  said  to  my  companion,  "  Who  is  that 
young  man  ?  I  do  not  remember  to  have  seen  him  be- 
fore." He  said,  "  Look  over  there.  Do  you  see  that 
beautiful  meadow,  and  that  large  farm,  and  the  house 
over  there  ?  That  young  man's  father  drank  that  all  up 
while  he  lived,  and  his  son  there  went  away,  and  began 
industriously  to  work  and  accumulate  money,  and  came 
back,  redeemed  the  old  homestead,  and  took  his  mother 
out  of    the  poorhouse,  and  is  now  on  his  way  to  the 


204  ANECDOTES. 

church  with  his  mother."  That  was  like  the  story  of 
the  old  Adam.  He  did  the  same  thing.  He  sold  us 
into  the  hands  of  justice,  but  the  Son  of  God  came  and 
bought  us  back  again. 


NO  TREASURE  IN  HE  A  VEN. 

A  COUPLE  of  friends  of  mine  in  the  war  called  upon 
^^  one  of  our  great  Illinois  farmers  to  get  him  to  give 
some  money  for  the  soldiers  ;  and  during  their  stay  he 
took  them  up  to  the  cupola  of  his  house  and  told  them 
to  look  over  yonder,  just  as  far  as  their  eyes  could  reach, 
over  that  beautiful  rolling  prairie,  and  they  said,  "  That 
is  very  nice."  Yes,  and  it  was  all  his.  Then  he  took 
them  up  to  another  cupola,  and  said,  "  Look  at  that  farm, 
and  that,  and  that."  These  were  farms  stocked,  im- 
proved, fenced;  and  they  said,  "Those  are  very  nice;" 
and  then  he  showed  them  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep- 
yards,  and  said,  "  They  are  all  mine."  He  showed  them 
the  town  where  he  lived,  which  had  been  named  after 
him,  a  great  hall,  and  building-lots,  and  those  were  all 
his  ;  and,  said  he,  "  I  came  out  West  a  poor  boy,  without 
a  farthing,  and  I  am  worth  all  this."  But  when  he  got 
through,  my  friend  said,  "  How  much  have  you  got  up 
yonder?"  and  the  old  man's  countenance  fell,  for  he 
knew  very  well  what  that  meant.  **  What  have  you  got 
up  there — in  the  other  world.?"  **Well,"  he  says,  "I 
have  not  got  anything  there."  "Why,"  says  my  friend, 
"  what  a  mistake  !     A  man  of  your  intelligence  and  fore- 


ANECDOTES.  205 

thought  and  judgment,  to  amass  all  this  wealth,  and  now 
that  you  are  drawing  to  your  grave,  you  will  have  to 
leave  it  all.  You  cannot  take  a  farthing  with  you,  but 
you  must  die  a  beggar  and  a  pauper ;"  and  the  tears 
rolled  down  his  cheeks  as  he  said,  "  It  does  look  foolish." 
Only  a  few  months  after  he  died,  as  he  had  lived,  and 
his  property  passed  to  others. 


THE  SLAUGHTERED  LAMB. 
T  HAVE  heard  of  an  English  lady  who  was  greatly 
troubled  about  her  soul  for  several  months,  and  the 
way  her  conversion  was  brought  about  was  this :  She 
told  her  servant  one  day  to  go  out  and  kill  a  lamb,  and 
told  him  what  to  do  with  all  the  different  parts  except 
the  blood,  and  presently,  after  he  had  killed  the  lamb,  he 
came  in  and  asked  her,  "  What  shall  I  do  with  the  blood 
of  the  lamb  T  And  God  used  it  as  the  arrow  that 
should  go  into  her  soul ;  for  she  began  to  walk  her  room 
and  ask  herself,  "  What  shall  I  do  with  the  blood  of  the 
Son  of  God  .«*"  And  I  ask  you  all,  what  are  you  going 
to  do  with  that  precious  blood  that  flows  from  Calvary } 
Are  you  going  to  let  it  cleanse  you  from  sin  t  What  say 
you  t 

ALL  ONE  AT  THE  CROSS. 

JUST  before  the  war  came  on,  during  the   days  of 
slavery,  I  was  in  Boston.     They  were  very  exciting 
times  then,  and  Dr.  Kirk  was  preaching  on  the  subject 

18 


2o6  ANECDOTES. 

of  the  Cross.  It  was  during  the  great  strife,  when  there 
was  a  great  deal  of  hatred  and  suspicion  against  foreign- 
ers then  in  our  country.  It  was  in  the  time  of  the  Know- 
Nothing  party,  and  there  was  a  strong  feeling  against 
the  blacks,  and  a  great  deal  more  against  the  Irish.  Dr. 
Kirk  said  when  he  came  up  to  the  Cross  to  get  salvation, 
he  found  a  poor  black  man  on  the  right  and  an  Irishman 
on  the  left,  and  the  blood  came  trickling  down  from  the 
wounded  side  of  the  Son  of  God  and  made  them  all 
brothers,  and  all  alike  and  equal.  That  is  what  the  blood 
does.  It  makes  us  all  one  kindred,  and  brings  us  all  into 
the  family  of  God.    We  are  all  saved  by  the  same  blood. 


SEEKING  THE  LORD  EARNESTLY. 

'T^HERE  was  a  lady  came  to  our  meeting  in  Philadel- 
phia— to  the  noon  prayer-meeting  at  ii  o'clock; 
she  came  early,  so  as  to  get  a  good  seat.  After  the 
meeting  was  over  we  had  another  meeting  for  women, 
and  she  stayed  at  that.  In  the  afternoon  we  had  an- 
other meeting,  and  she  stayed  at  that.  She  had  made 
up  her  mind  not  to  leave  the  meetings  till  she  had  found 
Christ.  She  did  not  find  him  at  that  meeting,  but  she 
might  have  found  him.  He  was  offered  freely  to  every 
one  of  them.  So  she  stayed  at  the  afternoon  meeting, 
and  still  no  light  came.  She  stayed  at  the  evening-meet- 
ing, and  went  into  the  inquiry-room  afterwards.  Between 
1 1  and  12  o'clock  she  took  me  by  the  hand,  and  said,  "  I 
will  trust  Him."    And  she  rejoiced  in  the  Saviour's  love- 


ANECDOTES. 


207 


I  met  her  afterwards.  There  was  not  a  face  shone  more 
than  hers  did.  There  was  a  woman  who  came  deter- 
mined to  find  him.  When  we  search  for  God  with  all 
our  hearts  we  are  sure  to  find  him. 


''A  LITTLE  CHILD  SHALL  LEAD  THEMP 

\  LITTLE  child  at  one  of  the  meetings  was  seen 
talking  so  earnestly  to  a  companion,  that  a  lady  sat 
down  by  her  to  hear  what  she  was  saying,  and  found  that 
the  dear  child  was  telling  how  much  Jesus  loved  her,  and 
how  she  loved  him,  and  asked  her  little  companion  if  she 
would  not  love  him  too.  The  lady  was  so  much  im- 
pressed by  the  child's  words  that  she  spoke  to  an  anxious 
soul  that  very  night,  for  the  first  time  in  her  life.  And 
so  "a  little  child  shall  lead  them." 


^li 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED; 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  oa  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  ly^ks  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


\CLtm 


MftK    6  19G8  5  4 


rocn.n  Fpj;|j^--j|;^^ 


A   HffOUS    HOV   8  70 -l  two 


>^^  >* 


YB  29377 


mttrtf.ti 


